TUPELO – Keith Urban’s fans, rejoice: His new tour is all about getting up-close and personal with his audience.

“It’s fantastic. I gotta say, this is definitely the most – what’s the word for it? – integrated with the audience tour that we’ve ever done,” Urban said in a phone interview with the Daily Journal from his home in Nashville. “It’s been phenomenal, so I’m really anxious to get to Tupelo and get this thing on.”

Making memories

Urban’s world tour, called “Get Closer” after his latest album, sees the country superstar getting, well, closer with fans.

He partnered with AT&T and Samsung to bring photos, contests and exclusive videos to fans, as well as “Urban Talk: 5 Minutes with Keith,” a video series in which he answered questions from fans.

“(The partnership) was from the heavens, because we live in such an age of social networking,” Urban said. “People are taking photos at concerts, and they’re Twittering in real time, they’re texting in real time. I love that people can feel connected in that way.”

Urban is reveling in that connectivity on this tour.

“I feel really fortunate that I just didn’t jump right into playing arenas, because it’s grown out from a grassroots thing. I started playing to a couple of people, then there was 10, then there was 20 and then there was 100. It grew slowly, so even if there’s 10,000 people there, it feels like a club show. I feel every person that’s there, no matter where they’re sitting. We went to great lengths to make this feel like a club show in an arena,” he said.

Urban is taking a break after this tour, and then will hit the studio again.

“We’re gonna tour through October, and then I’ll just be looking forward to some total downtime with my family,” which includes wife Nicole Kidman and their two daughters. “I would think before too long I’ll be planning the next record.”

But for now, Urban said he’s all about the Get Closer tour.

“It’s kind of like a big canvas I get to paint on every night, and I’m constantly painting, and I’m having a blast,” he said.

Urban invites all of his fans to “Get Closer” with him in Tupelo.

“That is my want, is that people come and be a part of something, and for two hours they’ll forget about everything going on with their lives and the next day feel so full of everything good and full of possibilities about themselves,” Urban said. “It’s more than a bunch of music. Hopefully, it’s an experience.”

sheena.barnett@journalinc.com

Get Closer Tour

WHO: Keith Urban, Jake Owen

WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Friday

WHERE: BancorpSouth Arena

COST: $54.75, $49.75, $25, plus fees

INFO: bcsarena.com or (662) 841-6528

Hey, Keith Urban, what's on your iPod?

“IT’S PRETTY MUCH the new Eric Church record, ‘Chief.’ From top to bottom, I play that record over and over. I got an advance copy two weeks before it came out, and it was instant. It was just instant. I haven’t been this blown away by a country record in, I don’t remember the last time. That’s pretty much all I’m playing.”

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