Although country music singer Keith Urban is widely-known for his Australian roots, he was actually born in New Zealand on October 26, 1967. Growing up in Australia, Keith’s parents were avid fans of American country music – he grew up listening to Charley Pride, Dolly Parton, Don Williams, and Jim Reeves. Keith learned to play guitar at age six, won talent competitions at eight, and played local clubs with his band at twelve. By fifteen, Keith had dropped out of school to pursue music full-time.Keith has been releasing albums in Australia and the United States – both solo and with a group – since the early 90s. He recorded his first solo album in 1990 under EMI in Australia, and soon after moved to the Mecca of country music: Nashville, Tennessee. Keith also fronted a three-piece group called The Ranch, which released an album in 1997. However, Keith left the band to resume his pursuit of a solo career.
During the late 90s, Keith struggled with a cocaine addiction. After completing the rehabilitation program at Cumberland Heights, a drug and alcohol treatment facility in Nashville, he forged ahead to greater heights in music and debuted a self-titled album in the U.S. in 2000. Keith Urban won the award for Top New Male Vocalist at the 2001 Academy of Country Music Awards, and boasted three top 5 hits. Although the release of his self-titled album placed Keith on Nashville’s radar, his explosion into country music mainstream didn’t come until the release of his breakthrough single, "Somebody Like You," off of his 2002 album, Golden Road. The single stayed at the top of the charts for eight weeks in 2002, keeping its #1 position longer than any other country artist that year. The video for "Somebody Like You" featured American model Niki Taylor, whom Keith dated off and on until the couple officially called it quits in 2004.
Following the success of Golden Road, Keith released his next album, Be Here, in 2004. It received a Best Country Album nomination at the Academy of Country Music Awards and the Grammy’s, and eventually went triple platinum in the U.S. by 2006. Keith’s collaborative efforts with other artists include touring with Kenney Chesney and Brooks & Dunn, performing as a session musician on albums by Garth Brooks and The Dixie Chicks, as well as performing with Faith Hill at the 2006 Grammy Awards. On June 25, 2006, Keith married Academy Award-winning actress Nicole Kidman, in their native Australia. On the advent of their nuptials, Keith’s ex-fiancé, Laura Sigler, expressed doubt about the longevity of Keith and Nicole’s relationship to the UK paper The Sun, citing Keith’s issues with commitment.
Some of the famous faces reportedly in attendance at Keith and Nicole’s wedding include Russell Crowe, Hugh Jackman, Naomi Watts, and Rupert Murdoch. Guests were asked to donate to the Sydney Children's Hospital in lieu of wedding gifts. Keith’s fans, who are referred to as Urbanites, revere the singer for his virtuoso guitarist skills and rock-riffs, his seize-the-moment song lyrics about enjoying the simple pleasures in life, and his rugged good looks. Keith’s status as a sex-symbol was solidified when he posed semi-nude for the April 2001 issue of Playgirl. Keith is often asked in interviews if Urban is his real last name, given its slick sound and the penchant for celebrities to change their names upon becoming famous. It is, in fact, the name he was born with – although he prefers to spell it using all lower-case letters.