KEITH URBAN WILL RETURN TO 'AMERICAN IDOL.' (AUDIO)

Keith Urban will be returning for Season 13 of American Idol. Fox entertainment chief Kevin Reilly confirmed that Keith will return for the new season of the singing competition at a Television Critics Association session in Beverly Hills last week. “Keith did a great job last year. The fans really liked him. Keith’s a really funny guy,” Reilly said. “You could see how much he loved the show.”

Keith, who tweeted “Thrilled to be back on @AmericanIdol with my pal @RyanSeacrest and dying to know who the other judges will be!!!” Season 12 judges Randy Jackson, Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj all left the show, and Season 10 and 11 judge Jennifer Lopez may join Keith and return to the panel.

Keith says some of the advice he gave to contestants was something he had to overcome early on and may have helped with his new album, Fuse, due September 10th. “I probably became more aware of the advice that I was giving and hearing why am I giving that advice,” says Keith. “Most of the time it was because I needed to hear that myself, or it was something I had to learn the hard way as well.”

Keith is currently making his way up the country charts with his single, “Little Bit of Everything.”

Audio / Keith Urban (AI advice)
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AUDIO: Keith Urban says some of the advice he gave to American Idol contestants was something he had to go through when first starting out, and perhaps something he thought of when he started making his forthcoming album, Fuse.

Keith Urban (AI advice) OC: …put it. [laughs] :51
“I probably became more aware of the advice that I was giving and hearing why am I giving that advice. Most of the time it was because I needed to hear that myself or it was something I had to learn the hard way as well — over-performing and theatrical sort of performing on stage and this kind of thing. I spent a few years in this theater group when I was seven and their whole thing was just — you have to, every time you are singing, no matter what the song is. There were some people that came through that had that in them and it’s not their fault it’s just the way in which they’ve come through it’s just where they’re at. I was there too, and it takes a little while to shake all that off. A friend of mine in Australia was talking about it’s like a cabaret the way your preforming and he said he has to go to recab to get rid of it. I thought that was a great way to put it.”