Keith Urban

It can get a little costly if you try and leave it until then to write songs. But you're writing all the time. You're collecting songs. I've had songs that have been collected over a two-year period for my next record.

Nothing like seeing the genesis of the relationship between an instrument and a child.

It's something I've always loved doing. I'm not one of the artists who comes in and just does my bit. I'm there every second of every day. That's my hands-on situation.

Sometimes I just cry at random stuff!

Getting on the bus and touring was my life. And when that was not around, I felt myself a bit lost at times, because that was all I had.

I tend to write better when I'm not touring.

You're always in a different headspace when you make each record, so hopefully they're all different. You just pick up things that you wish you hadn't done on the first one.

I don't swear much; I've taken those words out of my vocabulary, and having kids, you have to have two sets of language!

I think there's just so many people in the world that don't feel understood, and when you hear a song and you go, 'Oh, that song understands me,' that's an amazing feeling. I get it when I listen to the radio... That's a beautiful part of music.

It's not the case of turning in a bunch of songs and recording the next month. I think you're looking for songs all year long and you're writing all year long.

I think everybody has different priorities in their life. People live their lives differently. People become famous through all sorts of different reasons... some of it through art and some of it through just wanting to be famous. And I think how that all starts tends to reflect how you live your life daily.

Being with my family is very important to me, and touring is very important to me, too, because it's who I am. It's what I do.

I've always been a pretty private, quiet kind of person and so I haven't had to change my life really at all, I don't think.

Red carpets are pretty unpredictable. You can go from one person asking you what you're wearing to the next person asking you about the situation in Haiti. It's the extreme juxtaposition, and some of the questions can throw me!

They're mostly done before we went into the studio, although I do like writing in the studio.

I only hope when I have my own family that everyday I see a little more of my father in me.

I'm a little more comfortable in that role. I love being in the studio.

I love the beginnings of artists when all they've got is raw talent and nothing else.

You go through life experiences. Each record captures a different turning point in my life.

Raw is a good place for an artist. It's where the truth comes out.

The world is getting so reality-driven these days. It seems to be accelerating exponentially. But it's a dangerous game for a lot of people.

My father's record collection was all country. That's how I was exposed to it.

I think the industry is oblivious to the fact that most people listen to all kinds of stuff. I personally don't know of anyone who listens to only one genre of music. It's vanity because no one does.

I've never wanted to name an album from a song title if I could avoid it because I like it to be a body of work.

A song like 'Once in a Lifetime' is inspired by my marriage - it's a good, life-changing happening in my life. I think when you find your once-in-a-lifetime love, that's what everybody's looking for.

Once we get into the groove, we're kind of like long-distance runners - that adrenalin kicks in for me and I just keep running - and I don't stop!

I think it took me a while to convince Nashville that what I do is genuine and my heart's in the right place, and I love country music.

At the end of the day, the Grammys are about recognizing genres that are making an impact.

I always wish I'd had more mentors, better mentors, wiser mentors, people who were proper professional working musicians to guide me as I was coming up.