On Keith, on career, on Mrs Urban
No…the REAL Mrs Urban - as in his mother.
Finally a peep from Nashville and since it's now October, can we all agree Nicole Kidman is NOT pregnant? Can we also all agree that Nicole Kidman really wanted you to *think* that she was pregnant? I'll spare you the gloat but I'm telling you - never was there a more public engagement, a more public wedding, and a more public invitation to baby speculation…unless you count every move of the Cruise, but I guess that's no coincidence either, is it?
Still…for a while there, since Nicole really is so bloody talented, I declared pro-love for the Kidmans. The affectionate Nashville romantic promenades timed perfectly for the arrival of the pappies, the visits to the gym, shopping at Target for a Swiffer in a Bentley - heady from the fumes of their wonderfully played fraud, I said A for effort…sure, why not?
But every honeymoon comes to an end, even the Hollywood ones, and back in Country Music reality, things aren't sounding so good, at least not according to those watching closely. New rumours have surfaced around town that Keith's mother doesn't like Keith's wife, doesn't like the 'media circus' and the new level of scrutiny brought on by his marriage. Nashville spies say she's around a lot when Nicole is out of town, like a few days ago when Nicole was in London, but stays away when Nicole returns - and this is a woman who was gifted with her own tour bus pre-Freeze.
Having said that, the parental Urbans are supposedly also fully aware of the arrangements and have allegedly been recruited to do their parts for photo opps when summoned, hence the various 'family hike' pics you've seen dotting the Kidman/Urban romantic landscape - according to Nashville spies something Mama has objected to in the past, quite vocally I'm told, to the point of, so they say, a loud argument with Keith about a month before the original wedding date in March, and overheard by members of his entourage. In Nicole's defence though - who hasn't had to deal with an overbearing Mother in Law? Besides, that's not her biggest problem.
Keith's new record - inspired by their love - drops in less than a month. Many Nashville insiders report 'it's not his best work', unimpressed by the effort, unimpressed by what's been called a new 'air' about him, 'too busy playing star for the media instead of an artist creating an art form he claims is like breathing to him'. It's an attitude some fans are protesting, after what's being called a dismal performance in Atlanta few days ago during which he arrived almost an hour late and then only played for a short 70 minutes much to the disappointment of his followers, which is why everyone is predicting a CMA Entertainer of the Year win for Kenny Chesney, unless Nicole decides to 'buy it for him for his birthday'.Hee.
However, it's not all bad news. The first single off the album has been doing well, something attributed to the increase in exposure generated after becoming Nicole's husband. Encouraged by these results, observers speculate the new strategy around his career has been to ease out of the Country Box and reach beyond, with the intent to ride out his existing music contracts and then go in another direction. Word is he's been advised by her people to limit accessibility, a trademark of the Country genre to be sure, but definitely not the approach of Oscar winners and A list Hollywood movers and shakers who keep a measured distance between their own fabulousness and their fans.
Apparently he seems to be heeding her counsel, burying his fanbase under 6 feet of bullsh*t and Botox - a small price to pay I suppose for super mega-stardom, savvy?
