Tim McGraw Is Out. Keith Urban Is In.
The folks at KC Masterpiece have so moved on. Last year, they were all about Tim McGraw. But now? It's all about Keith Urban and his upcoming tour. They've said that it was the hugely successful run as McGraw's sponsor that made them get behind Urban's Escape Together tour that starts in May. In an interview with Billboard, a company spokesperson said, "There's a perfect link between people who barbecue out in the backyard and people listening to country music." As for switching to Urban, he said that they looked at who was touring this summer and "Keith just seemed like a perfect fit." Does that mean McGraw's not touring? No, but he only has 10 tour dates on his schedule right now, while Urban has way, way, way more. And he's supposedly "grateful and excited" about the KC Masterpiece/Kingsford sponsorship and the Backstage Barbecue Experiences that will be part of his shows.
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Lucy says:
I still like Tim best.
mg says:
Keith is great but Tim is still a favorite of mine!
countryiscool says:
I don’t feel I have to choose- I love both! Every artist is an individual with their own sound, style, personality, etc. Why limit myself to one or even a few?
Gail says:
Keith is special to me, but I do like Tim and Faith. I think this will be a great sponsor for Keith. I just hope I get to attend some of Keith’s shows. He is AWESOME!
Cindy says:
I’ve seen Keith perform live in concert about a dozen times and so I can honestly say that he is FLAT OUT FABULOUS! He has so much energy, charisma, and passion on stage! He’s definitely the country artist to watch this year!
Jackie says:
Tim is the Greatest! Awesome performer & singer.I’ll take Tim anyday!
Twangtown7 says:
Tim is alright, but he can’t even compare to Keith Urban when it comes to raw talent.
Tim doesn’t write any of his songs, and cannot play an instrument.
Crazymonkey9 says:
Do they advertise it on the packages?!? I’ll go buy a bunch just to see Keith when I open my freezer!!!
Greatdivide08 says:
Do you ever blog about real actual country music singers?
Melissa says:
Keith = music god! LOVE him!
Pam says:
Have seen them both and they are both great. I’ll go to either of their concerts anyday. No one has Keith Urban’s energy though
Kim Spin says:
Keith is fantastic. I’ve never been able to seem him in concertlive. I did see his concert dvd. He does put on a wonderful show all that enjoy. His voice you can listen to his songs forever. But he does do it all sing, write and play those guitars. Keith’s No. 1 for me.
Janet says:
Sorry seen Keith before and he does nothing for me, to rock he reminds me of the guitar people in the 60’s and 70’s.
Will take country Tim Mcgraw any day of the week
Funny Keith has NEVER had a #1 country tour or even a Top 5 tour in all of music. Tim has many times. Carrie was a big draw for him last year, see what he does without her.
His last two albums have not sold well at all.
Also Tim does write ever hear of If Your Reading This, My Girl, I’ve Got Friends That Do. He also plays the guitar.
Cindy says:
Janet: Uh, yeah, Tim writes but the songs you mention didn’t make it to #1. Tim plays the guitar? Don’t make me laugh!
Wonder why Tim doesn’t get nominated for awards if he has such successful tours and albums…..hmmmmm.
Brian Woods says:
Listen if none of you saw Tim Mcgraw in concert then you Have No room to talk about Him Badly Keith Urban is the best Musician I have Heard Play AND he is a Good Singer But i think Tim Mcgraw will always be the best He has Co-written songs and it is a start for him and yes he can play the guitar i have see him do it and my i think half these award shows are rigged kenny chesney should not be entertanier of the year and i think that tim mcgraw should of had a chance but i like Both of them and they are Good friends So if they saw people doing this and puttin one of them down they would probbly be upset, SO THEY BOTH ROCK BUT TIM MCGRAW WILL ALWAYS BE THE BEST TO ME AND I HAVE SEE BOTH CONCERTS AND THEY BOTH ROCK SO ALL OF YOU YOU WILL SAY THAT TIM MCGRAW CAN’T PLAY YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOUR TALKING ABOUT, PLUS Keith urban co-writes a lot too and don’t have many that he just wrote. so just sayin
Jill says:
It’s funny how this has turned into a blog arguing which artist is better, when it was just an article about who is sponsoring Keith’s tour. Personally, I’m one of the biggest Keith fans out there, but it isn’t like KC Masterpiece is dishing Tim McGraw. They just chose a longer tour this year, which is obviously going to give them more exposure. Tim’s fans can still love him and us Keith fans can still love Keith :) We can live in harmony, right? Can’t wait to see Keith live this summer!
star says:
love tim and faith they are just great! seen them plenty of times, it just comes natrual to both tim and faith i would take them over keith if i had to choose. i did see keith twice he is good but tim is #1 for me!!!
JK says:
What a great sponsor for Keith. I think his tour will be fantastic this year, I’m looking forward to going to multipe shows.
TEXAS says:
Keith Urban ROCKS!!!!! he is the Best!!!!
he plays, writes, and has hair!!!!!!!!!!
Karrie says:
Keith is the absolute best. No questions about it! He writes, produces, plays several instruments, and does it with a true passion for music. Tim is ok, but I’ll pay to see Keith in concert any day of the week.
Twangtown7 says:
Alsion…ya wanna quit deleting my damn comments? If theres no swearing, there should be no editing! Period!
JJ says:
Hmmmm….I didn’t realize Tim was still touring…you don’t hear much about him in the magazines, blogs or award shows. I have seen Tim, its been a while and I have also seen Keith. If we are truly comparing artists….I’m sorry but Keith wins hands down! Song writer, musician, singer and entertainer!! And did I mention humble?
He doesn’t have his own aftershave yet….I bet it would smell good!!!!
Come on girls, lets love who we love and not get mean….we are all fellow country fans. JJ
Ms. Feathers says:
Keith + charcoal + BBQ = YUM-O!
With Keith, I always knew the secret was in the sauce!!
RedMaZ says:
That boy is a bottle of ketchup compared to Texas BBQ.
CJ says:
Tim is awesome and always will be. He has that special something. Keith has that same quality. I love them both. Hate it when people start pulling a good star that can sing down. Tim and Faith have wonderful voices. That you can not deny.
countryiscool says:
I like BOTH. Quit making it a blog about choosing one over the other. Is it such a problem to like more than ONE artist?
BRAIN says:
I’ve worked in country radio for 14 years, and Keith Urban is the most talented artist I’ve seen. You can’t knock what Tim has done through out his career. He and Faith carried country music for awhile. But Keith can, write, produce, play multiple instruments, and sing. Tim may have him in the acting category, but that would be about it. Both have a place in country music today, but Keith transends the genre, and not too many artists can say that.
Camilla says:
I agree this should not be about the two artists but about the sponsor. This sponsor was wonderful representing Tim and Country Music last year. They did an outstanding job at Tim’s Pre-Parties and will do another wonderful job for Keith too. They sponsor tours for the exposure and Tim has not publicly announced whether he is having a Tour this year or not. If he does, he will also be successful regardless of who, if anyone, sponsors him. Of course the sponsorship helps to defray the tour costs. They are both excellent artists and put on terrific shows. Let’s just enjoy their different styles of music and let the rest go . . . I hope Tim does do more than the ones he has already announced because we all do enjoy his shows and tours.
MiaT says:
Tim McGraw will always be number 1 in my book. But there are soooo many people in the industry right now. I need a scorecard to keep track. Will Keith have a bag of his own chips? If so I will support him & put that bag next to Tim’s. LOL
I amvsure Tim will put more dates on the calender. The big question is how much will the ticket cost be?
Janet says:
Sorry Keith is not very country and his guitar playing IMO is straight up rock. He is talented but he is NOT country IMO.
If he ia so popular why has he NEVER had the number one country tour? Why has he never had a Top Five Country tour? Why has he never had a top Ten tour in all of music.
Tim has had number one tours in country many times with and without Faith. He has also had the number tour in all of music.
Tim this last year had two of his albums certified for 6 million sold, his 2000 GH and his Not A Moment Too Soon. He is the 7th best selling artist in ALL of music in the Soundscan ERA that dates back to May 1991. In fact this year Billboard stated Tim is the best selling artist in ALL of music with artist that released their first album AFTER May 1991. Tim’s big album came out in 1994, his breakthrough album.
Tim has sold over 37 million, Keith just barely over 10 million. In fact Keith GH album has barely sold over 600,000.
Tim’s 2000 GH and 2006 GH have sold OVER 81/2 million and still when they released his GH from 2000 and 2006 as a package last year they have sold over 300,000 so far even though apart they had already sold OVER 8 million.
Keith has never top Billboard Top 200 and Tim many times.
As for #1’s Keith went 3 years without a #1 and how he got #one was releasing a song from an older album.
So if he is so great why don’t fans buy his albums in great numbers, his one and only GH has sold less than a million. When Tim released his first GH it became the best selling of the year in country and now has sold OVER 6 million.
Ms. Feathers says:
To reiterate: This blog posting is not - *NOT* - a “Keith vs. Tim” thing. It is to point out the fact that the charcoal/bbq companies that sponsored Tim last year are now sponsoring Keith.
Janet - thank you SO much for your delightful Tim love letter, Keith bash letter… Talent is not always measured in millions of tickets or cds sold. Garth Brooks and Michael Jackson are the #1 selling artists in the world (isn’t Garth up to 100Mil, and MJ somewhere in the neighborhood of 60 mil?), so that would certainly put your beloved Tim way down the ladder if that’s your standard. But thanks for the research paper anyway. I’m sure your English teacher will give you an A for effort.
Can’t we all see how USELESS it is to denigrate an artist to try to make our favorite look rosy? Can’t we all see that VARIETY is a good thing, and, instead of bashing the ones you don’t like, promote the ones you do like with positive comments. Otherwise, threads like this turn into major bash-fests, and make everyone look bad (and all country music fans by extension).
Kingsford and KC Masterpiece have chosen to sponsor Keith this year, and it’s a great match up. Alison, next time please choose your blog headings a little more judiciously so as to avoid these petty battles.
Sammi says:
Keith is sooooooooo Hott! I love it when he plays his guitar. Tim is pretty hott also. I like both, but Keith is my favorite. How many instruments can he play? lol