Keith Urban's 'Fuse' album brings new collaborators

Keith Urban’s ‘Fuse’ album brings new collaborators

1/5

Urban continued to cement his country star status when he issued his third album “Golden Road” in 2002. The track “Somebody Like You” was named the biggest county hit of the 2000-2010 decade by Billboard. And the single “You’ll Think of Me” earned him his first Grammy Award. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

2/5

Urban’s fourth album “Be Here” also ruled Billboard’s Hot Country Songs with three No. 1 singles (“Days Go By,” “You’re My Better Half” and “Better Life”). The record was Urban’s highest-selling album, earning a four-times Platinum certification. Seven of the 13 songs were produced by the country singer himself. (Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times)

3/5

“Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing” was Urban’s fifth round at a solo album. The track “Once in a Lifetime” debuted at No. 17 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs -- a groundbreaking instance, marking a record for the highest-selling country single in the 62-year history of that chart. The single “Stupid Boy,” co-written by country music singer Sarah Buxton, also dominated the chart and earned Urban his second Grammy Award for male country vocal performance in 2007. (John Russel / AP )

4/5

For Urban’s sixth American album, “Defying Gravity,” he led with the track “Sweet Thing,” which also emerged as a No. 1 single on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs in 2009. The track also earned Urban a Grammy for male country vocal performance in 2010. And it was his second track release “Kiss a Girl,” that became Urban’s first No. 1 on the Billboard 200, selling 171,000 copies in its first week. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

5/5

Urban became a judge of the Australian reality singing competition “The Voice” in 2011, alongside Seal, Delta Goodrem and Joel Madden. (Lionel Cironneau / AP)

By Randy Lewis

Sept. 11, 2013 5:30 AM PT

The title of Keith Urban’s new album, “Fuse,” says a lot about what and who is on it. The New Zealand-born country singer, songwriter, guitarist, producer and “American Idol” judge has collaborated with a slew of musicians and producers he’d never worked with previously as his way of keeping things fresh for himself and for his fans.

Case in point: Urban co-wrote and co-produced two songs -- “Good Thing” and “Red Camaro” -- with Mike Elizondo, who is known for his creative partnerships with hip-hop world luminaries such as Eminem, Dr. Dre, Jay-Z and 50 Cent.

“In some ways, he was really the starting point for this record,” Urban, 45, said recently during an interview for a full profile that will appear soon in Calendar. “He was the first non-country guy I reached out to” among a group of new musical collaborators, including the Norwegian R&B-pop production team Stargate and Americana/indie rock producer-songwriter Butch Walker.

PHOTOS: Unexpected musical collaborations

Elizondo “has a great rhythmic gift as a bass player, is an incredible drum programmer and multi-instrumentalist,” said Urban, whose Light the Fuse tour brings him to the Hollywood Bowl on Sept. 27. “My music is very, very rhythmic-based, which comes from being a guitar player. I wanted to explore a much stronger presence of rhythmic elements in my music. It’s something that’s been there, but often has been pushed to the back.”

“I wanted to try something and make it all about the machinery, to see what we can create that didn’t feel fake and that was bristling with a particular kind of energy,” said Urban, who also collected four more Country Music Assn. Awards nominations on Tuesday.

“I love a lot of the Dr. Dre stuff [that Elizondo has] worked on over the years. I’ve probably gone many times to work with programmers who can program like that, so this time I thought, ‘Why am I working with guys who can program like Mike?’ So I liberated myself completely by going to the source and working with the original.”

Here’s the video for “Little Bit of Everything,” the first single from “Fuse”:

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Twitter: @RandyLewis2