Live Review: Keith Urban, Julia Michaels

It’s time to dust off your boots because tonight Brisbane Entertainment Centre is meeting Keith Urban. Joining him on the Graffiti U tour is his Coming Home collaborator, Julia Michaels, who herself is an incredible star. Her songs, often so delicate, can fill a room with ease. Michaels effortlessly captivates the crowd and her biggest hits, Issues and Worst In Me, win her a standing ovation. The only fault with Michaels' set is that it doesn't go long enough.

Keith Urban, the nice guy of country-pop-rock, welcomes his excited fans with warmth and appreciation. Never Comin Down opens the night and already we know it’s going to be one hell of a show. Only a few songs in, Urban invites a woman on stage who's recording a video on her phone for her partner. Seemingly down-to-earth, he shows us that he’s willing to go that extra mile to engage with his fans. After sharing his appreciation for all things Caboolture, we get back into the music. It’s not too long before we reach our ultimate highlight, the seven-minute rendition of Long Hot Summer. It doesn’t disappoint: this song raises every audience member from their seat and sends them soaring with excitement.

Julia Michaels joins Urban on stage for their duet, Coming Home: their performance together appears so natural, as if they were made to collaborate. With incredible stage presence, Urban brings us stellar performances of Stupid Boy, Cop Car and Carrie Underwood duet, The Fighter. Underwood may not have been on stage, but she was not absent from the performance, appearing on a massive AV screen for her half of the duet.

If you thought Urban couldn’t get any cooler, he's just proved you wrong. Not only does he cover a 5SOS song with his pal Michaels but he includes a hidden gem in one of his performances. It takes us a moment, but then it dawns on us, Keith Urban just covered a Post Malone chorus from Tiesto's Jackie Chan. This man is officially a baller.

Coming on stage for his encore, Urban dons a Queensland Maroons jersey, which only ticks more boxes. Sending us home with another Graffiti U track, Keith Urban proves that he’s got what it takes to turn anyone into a boot-scooting baby. The Graffiti U tour is a career highlight and a bloody good time.