Do we like Keith Urban?
Our score: 7 out of 10. No harmful words or campaigning turned up and he has given generously, but one high-profile gig for Trump's crowd is a real mark.
The latest chapter is a musical swerve. Flow State is mostly yacht rock covers, plus one original with Michael McDonald, and it began as informal jam sessions in a Nashville studio Urban restored. He told the AP the songs were “almost an antidote to the stresses of the times”. Fair enough, mate, we could all use a bit of soft rock.
It arrives after a big personal shake-up. Urban and Nicole Kidman finalised their divorce in January after 19 years of marriage, and he called the album “a very unexpected record to find me when it found me”. He has kept the details to himself, and the gossip mill has filled the gap.
Some of that gossip is just junk. AAP FactCheck looked at viral posts claiming Urban made a tearful confession and had a spat with Whoopi Goldberg on The View. It found the quotes were invented, with no record of him saying them, and the images showed signs of AI generation. If you've seen those, bin them.
The real stoush is Mar-a-Lago. In November 2025, videos showed Urban playing a private party for billionaire Anthony Pratt, a donor to Trump's 2024 campaign, with Trump in attendance. His set reportedly included Chappell Roan's Pink Pony Club, which drew boycott calls from critics. Defenders pointed out it was a private corporate show and that he has covered the song on tour.
On the harm check, we found no anti-LGBTQ+, anti-woman, anti-migrant, anti-vax or climate-denial words from him in our searches. Fox reported that he had previously said Pink Pony Club speaks to him because everyone wants to find their people and a place to belong. His reps didn't immediately respond to Fox about the party. That's thin, and it's why the verdict is an asterisk, not a clean pass: a gig is not a belief, but it is a choice.
So, would we support him? Mostly yes. No campaigning against anyone, a decent record of giving, and a new album aimed at calming things down. The Mar-a-Lago night is a fair thing to wish he'd explained, but it's one gig, not a pattern.