INFORMATION FOR RELEASE:
KEITH URBAN TAPPED TO HOST NEW GRAND OLE OPRY RADIO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN
Media note: Keith Urban/Opry radio spots are available at http://www.opry.com/pressroom/keithurban/
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – (September 19, 2012) Country music superstar and CMA Male Vocalist nominee Keith Urban is the voice of a new Grand Ole Opry radio campaign to begin airing this week in regional drive markets as well as on the Opry’s nationally syndicated radio program America’s Opry Weekend. In the campaign, Urban reflects on having become an Opry member earlier this year, inviting radio audiences to visit Nashville and to stay connected to the Opry via its mobile app.
“I’ll never forget that night,” Urban says in the spots, recalling his Opry induction. “Standing on the Grand Ole Opry stage and becoming an official Opry member. It was beyond my wildest dreams. I can feel the history and the excitement about country’s future every time I step on the Opry stage.”
The spots can be heard here http://www.opry.com/news/2012/9-19.html
The Grand Ole Opry® is presented by Humana®. Opry performances are held every weekend of the year and on Tuesdays through Dec. 13. To plan an Opry visit, call (800) SEE-OPRY or visit opry.com.
About the Grand Ole Opry
The Grand Ole Opry presents the best in country music live every week from Nashville, Tenn. Celebrating 86 years of entertainment, the Opry can be heard on 650 AM WSM, SIRIUS XM Satellite Radio, and opry.com. The syndicated weekly program, America’s Opry Weekend, airs on country radio stations across America and on the Armed Forces Radio Network. The Grand Ole Opry is owned by Gaylord Entertainment (NYSE: GET), a Nashville-based hospitality and entertainment company that also owns and operates Gaylord Hotels. For more information, visit opry.com
or www.gaylordentertainment.com
About Keith Urban
In 2001, the Country Music Association honored Keith Urban with its Horizon Award, designating him a talented artist with a bright future. He is the first Horizon Award winner in history to go on to win the CMA’s Male Vocalist of the Year, a title he’s captured three times, and the coveted Entertainer of the Year. More than 15 million albums later, Keith is a four-time Grammy Award winner, who has also won a People’s Choice and American Music Award. He’s won five Academy of Country Music Awards, had 14 #1s, including 28 Top 5 hits and in 2012 became a member of the Grand Ole Opry. His latest CD, Get Closer, comes on the heels of his fifth consecutive platinum or multi-platinum release. It has produced three consecutive #1s, “You Gonna Fly”, Long Hot Summer” and “Without You.”
In 2009, Urban was named radio’s most played country artist, thanks to #1 hits such as “Sweet Thing,” “You’ll Think Of Me,” “Only You Can Love Me This Way,” “Better Life” and “Days Go By.” In addition, his 2002 smash “Somebody Like You” was named the #1 Country Song of the Decade by Nielsen BDS (based on radio airplay and audience impressions).
But Urban’s reputation as an elite songwriter, musician, vocalist and virtuoso guitarist is no more evident than when he is onstage. His electrifying concerts have played to sold-out venues from Australia to Germany to England to Canada and The United States, all while receiving high praise from critics. In fact, 2009’s Escape Together World Tour, as well as 2007’s Love, Pain & The Whole Crazy World Tour, were both, according to Pollstar, one of the top grossing tours for their respective years. Last year, his Get Closer 2011 World Tour solidified Urban as one of the music industry’s best live performers. As one accredited journalist put it, “Urban is one of the best reasons in the world to attend a live concert.”
