Keith Urban recalls covering for Adele; laughs off Carrot Top reference

Keith Urban returned his blazing country production to Bakkt Theatre at Planet Hollywood Resort over the weekend.

Lest we forget, Urban played a noble role at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace during his residency at that theater. He took four dates in March and April 2022, left open when Adele postponed her original “Weekends With Adele” residency.

“Weekends With Adele” also restarted this weekend. The superstar made a rare disclosure, that she suffered from “jock itch” during her return to the stage. This continues the tradition of wardrobe malfunctions for recording stars.

In stepping in for Adele in March 2022, Urban sang “Easy on Me” as a tribute when he took the stage. During a recent Neon Q&A, he recalled those tense times at Caesars.

“I think it was bold to do what she did in the face of all of the criticism she knew she was going to get,” Urban said during a recent Q&A leading to his return to the Strip. “At the end of the day, she knows that her name is on that ticket, her name is on every review. It’s her who’s going to get reviewed. It’s not the production. It’s not the band. It’s not the set list. It’s her who is going to get critiqued on every level.”

Urban can identify.

“As a performer, if you’re not 100 percent about what you’re walking out to do, don’t do it,” the55-year-old country hit-maker said. “I mean, the ways in which we go about doing all of that is different from artist to artist. I’m not here to comment on that. But I’ve heard amazing reviews about her show, now. And more power to her for wanting it to be right.”

Urban has not seen Adele’s show. We would love to know his thoughts. And as he says, “As far as as being able to cover for her, that was just a no-brainer.”

Urban has also played a cameo role in a Strip comedy production for more than a decade. But until our chat, he had no idea.

It’s a clip in Carrot Top’s show at Luxor’s Atrium Showroom. Fans of the comic know where we’re going with this.

The video is footage of the 2012 Academy of Country Music Awards show. The broadcast originated from the MGM Grand Garden. Reba McEntire and Blake Shelton co-hosted. One of the celebrity outlets on the red carpet thought it would be funny to ask the country stars, “Who’s going to have on more makeup?”

Urban answered the question with a deadpan, “I’m going to go with Carrot Top, for sure.”

Urban’s wife, A-list actress Nicole Kidman, standing at his side, asked back, “Who’s Carrot Top?”

The line kills in the Luxor show, as Topper shouts at the screen, “What!?”

Urban laughed through the description of the Carrot Top show, which he said he has not seen. He said he remembered the night in question, and the odd question.

“I knew my wife knew who Carrot Top was. When I showed her what he looked like, she said, ‘Oh, I know. That’s Carrot Top. I just didn’t think he was going to be at the show tonight,’ ” Urban said in a recent phone chat. “It seems such a random question. Extremely random.”

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.