Keith Urban says the coronavirus pandemic has "affected [his] centre as a creative person".
The ‘Blue Aint Your Color’ hitmaker has been struggling to cope amid the global health crisis, as staying indoors as part of the new social distancing guidelines has meant his "artistic confidence" has been stifled.
He said: "Someone the other day, I just called someone on the phone and they’re like, ‘Hey, Hey, how you doing?’ I said, ‘That’s such a complicated question these days. Would you start with something easier?’
"I discovered that I derive too much of my artistic confidence from playing live and being in the studio and when those two things got taken out from under me, it affected my centre as a creative person, so I had to figure my way back to that creative place with confidence. That took a little while."
And Keith – who has 11-year-old Sunday Rose and nine-year-old Margaret Faith with his wife Nicole Kidman – likened his mental state to that of a scene in ‘Dumb and Dumber’, as he joked he was left "quivering in the corner" at the prospect of being unable to tour until the pandemic has subsided.
He added: "Remember Jim Carrey’s character in ‘Dumb and Dumber’ in the bathroom stall when he’s sucking his thumb, quivering in the corner. That’s about what I felt like for the first two weeks of this whole thing because, especially when it became more apparent we’re not going to be touring for a while. I’m just like, ‘Nope. What? No, no, no, no.’ Always toured. Always toured. Must tour. Trying to keep being creative in this new singular realm was a bit of a turn for me."
To keep himself busy during his time in lockdown, Keith has been playing guitar, and has discovered he considers the skill a "hobby" beyond being part of his music career.
Speaking to Zane Lowe for Apple Music’s Beats 1 Radio, he said: "Oh yeah, I love playing [guitar]. I realised the other day, it’s not just my job, it’s my hobby. And I know that because right now it ain’t my job. I’m not earning s**t doing it. But I’m still playing free shows on the old web here. So … Apparently I love doing it too. So, you know."
Keith Urban: The coronavirus pandemic has impacted my creativity
