Tim Urban
Tim Urban |
|---|
Timothy Joseph "Tim" Urban (born May 1, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter from Duncanville, Texas who was the seventh place finalist on the ninth season of American Idol.
Biography
Urban was born and raised in Duncanville, Texas, and has been singing and playing the guitar since he was 13 years old. He was homeschooled by his mother.[1] Urban is the sixth of 10 kids[2] and has a brother serving in the military in Afghanistan.[3] Urban had three months of formal singing training in a music studio[4] and points to several diverse artists as his musical influences. These include John Denver, Jack Johnson, John Mayer, One Republic, Jim Croce and James Taylor.[5] In an American Idol interview Urban reported that he had never touched alcohol, tobacco or illegal drugs.[6]
Urban was a member of Actors, Talent and Models for Christ (AMTC), a talent-development agency that also counted Idol alum Diana DeGarmo as a past participant.[7] He used to be a hotel and restaurant singer[8] who played in the Dallas/Ft. Worth Christian music circuit with his band.[9] Idol's fourth season winner Carrie Underwood gave Urban a necklace of which he later said, "I love that necklace. There's a lot of sentimental value."[10]
American Idol
Urban auditioned for American Idol' in 2009, and made it through to Hollywood Week, where he was later cut. However, he was called back to American Idol after contestant Chris Golightly was disqualified from the competition for having lied about a past recording contract. Urban subsequently survived the semi-final eliminations and won a spot in Season 9's Top 10, securing a place on the 2010 American Idol summer concert tour.[11] When he was asked by American Idol what his proudest moment was, he answered, "Handing out nutritional products to orphans in South Africa and Swaziland."[12]
On the whole, Urban received a mixed reception from the judges, who praised a few of his performances but regarded many of them as boring, "pedestrian"[13] and "pointless and silly."[14] But bloggers, often comparing him to Sanjaya Malakar from Season 6[15], noted how the judges' criticisms never seemed to affect the perpetually smiling Urban -- or his chances at being saved week after week. He was dubbed "Teflon Tim,"[16] a nickname to which host Ryan Seacrest alluded during the March 30 broadcast.[17][18] "I don't think it makes any difference whatsoever what we say," quipped Simon Cowell the same night. "You're going to smile, the audience is going to vote for you, nobody cares, and you'll be here next week. So well done."[15] As the controversy over Urban's lackluster performances grew, critics of the show began to fault the judges' commentary as "little more than displays of ego or thinly disguised bullying," and suggested Urban may be good for the show, because he put the judges in their place.[19]
Vote for the Worst, a satirical Idol blog, supported Urban for his entire run during the season. The Web site claims Urban holds the record for the contestant to survive the longest with its endorsement, outlasting even Malakar.[20][21] Urban later said about the blog, "I'm actually kind of sad that I was on that website."[22]
Urban was eliminated during the "Idol Gives Back" special on April 21, after receiving unenthusiastic reviews for his performance of "Better Days" by Goo Goo Dolls, making him finish the competition in seventh place. A retrospect of Urban's run on Idol followed the announcement of his elimination. Then, presumably because the show ran long, it abruptly ended, without Urban even having a chance to sing a final song.[23] Urban later said, "I was a little sad that I didn't get to sing one last time on that stage, but... you don't always get what you want. I'll be back for the finale and hopefully get to perform on that stage again. It was a little bittersweet, but overall, it's all right."[24]
Performances
| Week # | Theme | Song choice | Original artist | Order # | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Audition | Auditioner's Choice | "Bulletproof Weeks" | Matt Nathanson | N/A | Advanced |
| Hollywood | First Solo | "Come Back to Me" | David Cook | N/A | Advanced |
| Hollywood | Group Round | "Get Ready" | The Temptations | N/A | Advanced |
| Hollywood | Second Solo | "Viva la Vida" | Coldplay | N/A | Eliminated1 |
| Top 24 (12 Men) | Billboard Hot 100 Hits | "Apologize" | OneRepublic | 4 | Safe |
| Top 20 (10 Men) | "Come On Get Higher" | Matt Nathanson | 9 | Safe | |
| Top 16 (8 Men) | "Hallelujah" | Leonard Cohen | 3 | Safe | |
| Top 12 | The Rolling Stones | "Under My Thumb" | The Rolling Stones | 7 | Bottom 32 |
| Top 11 | Billboard #1 Hits | "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" | Queen | 3 | Bottom 33 |
| Top 10 | R&B/Soul | "Sweet Love" | Anita Baker | 5 | Bottom 34 |
| Top 9 | Lennon/McCartney | "All My Loving" | The Beatles | 6 | Safe |
| Top 95 | Elvis Presley | "Can't Help Falling in Love" | Elvis Presley | 3 | Safe |
| Top 7 | Inspirational Songs | "Better Days" | Goo Goo Dolls | 3 | Eliminated |
- ^Note 1 Because of the controversy over Chris Golightly's contract, Urban was brought back into the top 24.
- ^Note 2 Urban was saved first from elimination.
- ^Note 3 When Ryan Seacrest announced the results for this particular night, Urban was among the Bottom 3 but declared safe second, as Paige Miles was eliminated.
- ^Note 4 When Ryan Seacrest announced the results for this particular night, Urban was among the Bottom 3 but declared safe second, as Didi Benami was eliminated.
- ^Note 5 Due to the judges using their one save to save Michael Lynche, the Top 9 remained intact for another week.
Post-Idol
Urban went on a media tour on local FOX affiliates, in addition to planned appearances on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, the Late Show with David Letterman, and The Wendy Williams Show. He has visited the If I Can Dream House. He is also going to be on the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2010 starting in July. Urban may start recording an album.
References
- ^ http://www.usmagazine.com/moviestvmusic/photos/meet-american-idols-top-12-2010172/6897
- ^ http://www.thecalifornian.com/article/20100422/ENTERTAINMENT/100422025/1002/NEWS01/+American+Idol+++Tim+Urban+reflects+on+ouster
- ^ http://celebrifi.com/gossip/Tim-Urban-Loves-Babies-and-Animals-2160747.html
- ^ http://bumpshack.com/2010/02/24/2010-american-idol-9-top-12-guys-bios-photos-videos/
- ^ http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2010-02-23-american-idol-men_N.htm
- ^ http://www.one21music.com/tag/tim-urban/
- ^ http://newsroom.mtv.com/2010/03/24/american-idol-tim-urban-photos/
- ^ http://entertainment.malaysia.msn.com/tv/photos.aspx?cp-documentid=3899536&page=22
- ^ http://www.one21music.com/2010/02/american-idol-seaon-9-goes-live/
- ^ http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/news/2010-04-22-urban-idol-more_N.htm
- ^ http://tvwatch.people.com/2010/02/18/idol-shakeup-tim-urban-replaces-chris-golightly-in-top-24/
- ^ http://www.americanidol.com/contestants/season_9/tim_urban/
- ^ MTV News. 'American Idol' R&B Night Belongs To Lee Dewyze, Crystal Bowersox. March 30, 2010.
- ^ Dallas/Forth Worth Star-Telegram. DFW 'American Idol' hopefuls criticized on bad night overall. March 24, 2010.
- ^ a b Dunn, Gabrielle. Teflon Tim Urban: Most Polarizing 'Idol' Finalist Since Sanjaya?. AOL Television. April 13, 2010.
- ^ USA Today. The doomsday scenario: How Tim Urban wins 'American Idol'. March 28, 2010.
- ^ USA Today. Tim Urban's feeling the 'Sweet Love'; well, maybe not so much. March 30, 2010.
- ^ Seattle Times.'American Idol' Top 10 is Timmy's World, and the rest of them are just living in it.. March 31, 2010.
- ^ USA Today "Idol Chatter". Why Tim Urban needs to stick around. April 1, 2010.
- ^ http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/American+Idol+stinker+Urban+mangles+hits+woos+fans/2765440/story.html
- ^ http://television.aol.com/american-idol/2010/04/02/dave-della-terza-interview-vote-for-the-worst-tim-urban/
- ^ http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2010/04/22/1097102/american-idols-tim-urban-saddened.html
- ^ http://insidetv.aol.com/2010/04/21/teflon-tim-urban-finally-gets-the-boot-on-american-idol-vid/
- ^ http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/americanidoltracker/2010/04/tim-urban-on-being-the-vote-for-the-worst-pick-its-nothing-to-be-proud-of-i-was-sad.html