Toby Keith planning first European tour

Toby Keith (Associated Press photo)

Oklahoma country star Toby Keith is broadening his horizons, quite literally, by planning his first ever European tour.With his Nov. 9 date in Glasgow, Scotland, the Norman resident will start a journey around Northern Europe promoted by Live Nation International, according to a news release.

Keith’s international appeal as superstar artist, songwriter and movie star has been consistently growing outside of the borders of the United States, according to the release. His current album, “That Don’t Make Me A Bad Guy,” is already approaching platinum status in Norway and has been overwhelmingly received halfway around the world in Australia, where his video for “God Love Her” is No. 1 at the CMC network.

“Country music goes through cycles of mainstream popularity internationally and 2009 has seen the genre go from strength to strength,” says Universal VP/International Marketing Iain Snodgrass, with whom Keith’s label partners in Europe, in the release. “Toby has been at the forefront of this and we are delighted that he’s bringing his show to Europe.”

Meanwhile, Keith was recently named to Forbes magazine’s list of the most powerful celebrities in the world, in part because of a business empire that includes his restaurants, a clothing line, his Show Dog Nashville record label, and an endorsement by Ford Trucks. According to Forbes, Toby placed among the top earners this year. Since the turn of the decade, he has grossed hundreds of millions in ticket sales and his songs have spent more than a year at No. 1 on the Billboard charts, according to the release.

Adding support to Forbes’ ranking is a recent posting on the Yahoo! Music Blog that tapped Toby as the No. 4 album seller, all-genre, of the decade.