KEITH URBAN KNEW HIS CAREER PATH WHEN HE SAW JOHN MELLENCAMP IN CONCERT

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Keith Urban sat down with Criss Angel for his "Talking Junkies" podcast recently, discussing at length his storied career from a geeky but talented kid in Australia to the global superstar he is today. Among the things we learn from the conversation:

• Keith felt that he was headed down the wrong path when he was younger. When he was asked where he'd be without music, Keith laughed and said, "I'd be in jail, probably." Keith's struggles with drugs and alcohol have been well documented over the years.
• As to how a kid from Australia with a love of rock music ended up as a country star, Keith admitted that he was at a loss as to which genre he should pursue a career in. "I love John Mellencamp. Huge John Mellencamp fan. And he did a record called 'Lonesome Jubilee' Prior to that, he'd had 'Hurts So Good,' more straight rock, and then through 'Scarecrow' he brings in some fiddles and a few little organic things. Then he does 'Lonesome Jubilee' and he's got accordion, fiddle, acoustic guitars, but he's got this rock rhythm section still. It was the collision of all these things that, prior to going to that concert that night, I'd been like 'Man, am I country or am I rock? I don't know what I am, what I'm supposed to be doing?' I went to that concert. He walked out onstage. The band was phenomenal. And I saw and heard all that fusion and it was literally like a light went off. I was like, 'I get it. Don't think about genre or anything. Just...pull all the things you love, your soup, man, your gumbo, and make your gumbo.'" Check out the entire episode (with some NSFW language) here. 

Source: TheBoot