The New Face in country music

Keith Lionel Urbahn was born in Whangarei, New Zealand on the 26th of October, 1967. Although he’s Kiwi-born, Urban’s family moved to Queensland, Australia when he was two years old. It was here that young Keith showed a talent for music from a very young age. He started learning guitar and ukulele as a child, and by the time he was a teenager, he was already performing in clubs and bars.

In 1983, he appeared on New Faces, an Australian talent show – but that wasn’t young Keith’s first time at the rodeo. He actually sang a cover of Dolly Parton’s “Applejack” on another TV talent show, Pot of Gold when he was just 11. Undeterred by the Pot of Gold rejection, Urban’s performance on New Faces five years later didn’t yield much more success but it did bring him to public attention.

Fortunately, Urban was determined and continued to pursue his country music dream. His persistence paid off. After securing a record deal with the Australian arm of EMI in 1990, he released a self-titled debut album and appeared on a successful compilation Breaking Ground - New Directions in Country Music.

In 1992, Keith moved to Nashville, Tennessee - a logical move for any aspiring country star. For the next couple of years, he toured as a support act for Slim Dusty, played guitar for Garth Brooks, and generally developed his musical skills.

1997 saw the formation of The Ranch, a band featuring Keith Urban, alongside drummer Peter Clarke and bassist Jerry Flowers. The group landed a record deal with Capitol Records Nashville and two of their tracks climbed the Hot Country Songs charts. But their time was short-lived - The Ranch disbanded in 1998, and Urban sought solo fame once more.

His self-titled American debut album launched Keith into the US country charts, and he had his first no.1 hit with “But for the Grace of God.” More chart-topping singles and albums were soon to follow.

Noughties success

Throughout the 2000s, Keith Urban established himself as one of the biggest stars in country music. His debut album was followed by Golden Road in 2002, which featured the lead single, "Somebody Like You." The song spent six weeks at the top of the Billboard country chart and propelled Keith to superstardom. Golden Road was certified triple-platinum in 2005.

Urban’s next few albums further cemented his success as a noughties country star. By 2011, Urban had been awarded no less than four Grammy Awards for Best Male Country Vocal Performance and released a string of popular hits, including “Stupid Boy” and “I Told You So”.

Further releases and The Voice

The next decade brought Keith Urban more popular album releases — from Defying Gravity (2009), which featured “Sweet Thing” – Urban’s tenth number-one – to Graffiti U (2018), his tenth studio album.

More recently, he released several singles in 2022 and embarked on a world tour in June

While Keith Urban’s musical career continued throughout the 2010s and into the ‘20s, he also appeared as a judge on the TV talent show, The Voice. He joined the reality singing competition in 2011 — a full-circle moment, considering his appearance on Pot of Gold over 30 years before!

He was a vocal coach on the show for one year before being replaced by Ricky Martin in 2012. However, he returned for two seasons in 2020 and 2022. He was also a judge on three seasons of American Idol. Both roles gave Urban the opportunity to help others achieve their dreams.

Personal life and marriage to Nicole Kidman

Over the years, Keith Urban has struggled with alcoholism and cocaine addiction, particularly during his time in Nashville in the 1990s. He has been to rehab twice, once in 1998 and later in 2006.

Keith Urban is married to one of Hollywood's most iconic actresses, Nicole Kidman. The couple met in 2005 at an event in LA, and got married a year later. They now have two daughters, Sunday and Faith.

Keith Urban is an iconic part of the modern country music scene and continues to inspire audiences around the world.