KEITH URBAN - ARIA BOSSES REFUSE TO REPLACE URBAN

The organisers of the Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards won't replace troubled country star KEITH URBAN this weekend (29OCT06) because they haven't got time to find a suitable stand-in. The Aussie singer was scheduled to perform at the annual industry showcase in Sydney before he checked himself into a rehab facility in America to fight ongoing alcoholism issues. ARIA organiser MARK POPE insists he won't be filling Urban's performance slot with a replacement artist. He says, "It's not a cookie-cutter mentality where you can just replace an artist like Keith Urban."