[9] Urban tried out for the ninth season of American Idol at the Dallas auditions, and sang "Bulletproof Weeks" by Matt Nathanson.

The judges sent Urban through to Hollywood Week, where he was shown during the first night, singing "Come Back to Me" by American Idol seventh-season winner David Cook.

"[13] Urban was cut before the Top 24, but was called back after contestant Chris Golightly was disqualified from the competition for having lied about a past recording contract.

Urban subsequently survived the semifinal eliminations and won a spot in the ninth's season top 10, securing a place on the 2010 American Idol summer concert tour.

[14] 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.

"[15] 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"[16] and "pointless and silly.

[22] Vote for the Worst, a satirical Idol blog, supported Urban for his entire run during the season.

The website claimed Urban held the record for the contestant to survive the longest with its endorsement, outlasting even Malakar.

[30] He recently ran a Kickstarter campaign to raise money to record and release two new songs, "Perfectly You" and "Tears for Hallelujah."

Franklin wrote that New York Sessions convinced him of Urban's potential to record an impressive full-length album.