Keith Urban has been announced as the headlining superstar for CBS's new country music discovery series 'The Road.' The show aims to revolutionize the traditional music competition format by focusing on real-world performance experiences.

Unlike conventional music competitions, 'The Road' eliminates nationwide voting and multiple rounds. Instead, emerging artists will open for Urban at live venues, with randomly selected audience members voting for their favorite performers immediately after the shows.

The competition will feature seven free concerts across major cities:

• Fort Worth (March 2)
• Dallas (March 5)
• Oklahoma City (March 9)
• Tulsa (March 12)
• Memphis (March 24)
• Nashville (March 28 and April 2)

Shows are designed to be efficient, with events like the Fort Worth opening at Tannahill's Tavern & Music Hall running from 7:00-9:30 PM local time.

Urban, drawing from his own experience, explained the show's concept: "I spent a lot of my underage life playing in some seedy pubs, sometimes just for the bartender. So I love the idea of throwing artists into a real-world environment to find out if they are artists."

He emphasized the importance of real-world experience in developing as a performer: "Paying your dues sucks, but there are things in this business that can't be taught, like how to put together a set list, whether to extend or cut a song during your performance or how to work the crowd. For me, touring has always been my first love."

The Blake Shelton-produced series is scheduled to premiere in fall, with registration for free tickets now open. These performances are separate from Urban's upcoming High and Alive World Tour, which begins in May.

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