Keith Urban gives fans a tour teaser with morning concert in New York’s Central Park

HARDWORKING country music star Keith Urban has managed to squeeze in a morning concert in New York’s Central Park, ahead of his US tour.

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HARDWORKING country music superstar Keith Urban has managed to squeeze in a morning concert in New York’s Central Park, ahead of his Raise ‘Em Up tour of the US.

Hot on the heels of his Australian Light The Fuse tour, supporting his Fuse album, Urban is about to take to the roads of Canada and the United States, kicking off with a show in Alberta. Urban plans to play all the tour shows in outdoor amphitheatres, as he did for Light The Fuse.

But first, the early riser took to the stage in Central Park at the un-rock’n’roll hour of 7am, as part of Good Morning America’s summer concert series, posting a mini-video of himself on Instagram.

Interviewed by the show’s anchor Robin Roberts, about his family and daughter Sunday Rose’s recent sixth birthday, Urban said he doesn’t like to be apart from them for long. “If I’m out for a little longer than a few days they come out on the road. All the girls do,” he said, referring also to wife Nicole Kidman and younger daughter Faith Margaret.

All fired up ... Keith Urban greets his fans before taking to the stage in Central Park in footage he posted online. Picture: Instagram

As well as his touring commitments, Urban has signed on for a third season on the US version of American Idol, reuniting with judges Harry Connick Jr and Jennifer Lopez. Auditions for the 2015 season begin later this month.

Last month, Urban told Rolling Stone how fond he is of his fellow judges. “[Harry Connick Jr] feels like a brother to me,” he said. “We’re very different as people, but I love his heart and I love his musicality. I love his sense of humour. And I just know that when we’re in the audition cities, which I’m looking forward to doing, they’re so much fun because we just riff [on] stuff all day.”

Reunited ... Keith Urban has a bond with fellow ‘American Idol’ judges Jennifer Lopez and Harry Connick Jr.

As for Lopez, who can come in for a hard time from critics, Urban thinks she is misunderstood. “I think the word ‘diva’ gets misused a lot of times by people because my definition of it is someone who knows exactly what is required to protect and keep healthy and guide and safe-keep the gift and what they have to offer,” he says. “Why can a guy protect his gift and say, ‘Well this is what I need,’ and when he does that he’s called a very clever businessman, but a woman’s called a B-I-T-C-H, or a diva, I don’t understand.”