Keith Urban’s SECRET Vegas Move EXPOSED! Legendary Country Star’s ‘New Chapter’ Leaves Fans SPEECHLESS!

From his first record deal to American Idol and everything in between

Keith Urban smiling on the ACM Awards red carpet in 2025

Keith Urban © Imago

Author: Scarlett MartinPublished 26th Oct 2025

A firm favourite here at Rayo, Keith Urban is an undeniable titan in the world of country music. With a career spanning over 35 years, the Australian country megastar has sold an estimated 15 million albums worldwide, with 20 of his 30 singles reaching the Number 1 spot. That’s not to mention his countless CMA and ACM awards, four Grammy Awards and stints as a judge on both The Voice and American Idol.

With such an impressive list of achievements to his name, we thought we’d take a look back at the biggest highlights from Keith Urban’s phenomenal career, as he picks up the coveted Triple Crown Award at the 2025 ACM Awards. From his debut album right up until today, here’s a look at Keith’s career timeline so far.

Keith Urban’s career through the years:

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1990-1992: Career beginnings

Keith Urban’s country music career started in 1990 when he signed a record contract with EMI Records in his home country of Australia. He released his self-titled debut album a year later and started to build a loyal fanbase.

In 1992, Keith won the award for Male Vocalist Of The Year and Instrumentalist Of The Year (pictured) at Australia’s annual Tamworth Country Music festival. Later that year he decided to move to Nashville, Tennessee to chase his big break in America.

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1994-1997: The Ranch is formed

While trying to make it big in Nashville, Keith Urban was a support act for country music singer Slim Dusty during his 1993/1994 tour, which included his first show at the Grand Ole Opry. Throughout the early ’90s, he also co-wrote songs for country music artists Toby Keith, The Raybon Brothers and 4 Runners.

In 1997, Keith formed the country music trio The Ranch along with bassist Jerry Flowers and drummer Peter Clarke. They were signed with Capital Records Nashville and released their self-titled debut album. A year later the group disbanded and Keith continued to pursue his solo career.

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1999: ‘Keith Urban’ is released

After being signed by Capitol Records Nashville as a solo artist, Keith Urban released his breakthrough self-titled American debut album in 1999. The album was led by the single ‘It’s a Love Thing’, which reached Number 18 on the Hot Country Songs chart. This was followed ‘Your Everything’, which reached Number 4 on the charts making Keith the first male New Zealand performer to reach the Top 10 on the US country charts.
Keith secured his first Number 1 with the album’s third single, ‘But for the Grace of God’, while his last single ‘Where the Blacktop Ends’ reached Number 3.

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2000-2001: Keith wins his first CMA

Following the success of his self-titled American debut album, Keith Urban won the Top New Male Vocalist Award at the 2001 Academy of Country Music Awards, as well as the 2001 Country Music Association’s Horizon Award, which recognises fresh and emerging country artists. That same year, he also won the Outstanding Achievement Award at the ARIA Music Awards and the Male Vocalist Award at the VMAs.

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2002-2003: ‘Golden Road’ is released

Keith Urban released his second US album ‘Golden Road’ in October 2002, which went on to reach Number 11 on the Billboard 200 chart and Number 2 on the Top Country Albums chart.
Three of the album’s singles – ‘Somebody Like You’, ‘Who Wouldn’t Wanna Be Me’, and ‘You’ll Think of Me’ – all topped the Hot Country Songs chart upon their release, while ‘Raining on Sunday’ peaked at Number 3.

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2004: ‘Be Here’ is released

In September 2004, Keith Urban released his third US album ‘Be Here’ which quickly stormed its way to the top of the Top Country Albums Chart. The album also produced the chart-topping singles ‘Days Go By’, ‘Making Memories of Us’ and ‘Better Life’, as well as the Number 2 hits ‘You’re My Better Half’ and ‘Tonight I Wanna Cry’.

Keith also released ‘You’ll Think Of Me’, the fourth and final single from his ‘Golden Road’ album in 2004. The song spent two weeks at Number 1 on the Hot Country Songs chart. Later on that year, Keith was awarded Male Vocalist Of The Year at the 2004 Country Music Association Awards.

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2005: Grammy Award win

Keith Urban’s smash hit ‘You’ll Think of Me’ earned him his first Grammy Award win for Best Male Country Vocal Performance in 2005. He also won Entertainer of the Year and Male Vocalist of the Year at the 2005 CMAs.

Keith went on to support Bryan Adams during his UK and Ireland tour that same year, which was the first time he had performed in front of European audiences. Shortly after the tour was finished, in June 2005, Keith started dating Hollywood actress Nicole Kidman, after meeting her at G’Day LA – a Hollywood event that promotes Australia – earlier in the year.

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2006: ‘Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing’ is released

‘Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing’, Keith Urban’s fifth studio album, was released in November 2006 and topped the country charts, as well as reaching Number 3 on the Billboard 200. The album included the four singles ‘Once in a Lifetime’, ‘Stupid Boy’, ‘I Told You So’ and ‘Everybody’, which were all Top 10 hits on the Billboard Country charts.
After a year of dating, Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman tied the knot on 25th June 2006 at the Cardinal Cerretti Memorial Chapel, in Sydney, Australia. The couple are still together to this day and share two daughters, Sunday and Faith.

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2007: Keith wins second Grammy Award and releases greatest hits album

Keith Urban released his first greatest hits album ‘Greatest Hits: 18 Kids’ in November 2007. The album, which includes 26 of Keith’s biggest hits, performed well in the US and his home country of Australia, reaching Number 4 on the US Top Country Albums charts and Number 2 on the Australian Country Albums chart.

That same year, Keith Urban’s Number 3 hit ‘Stupid Boy’, from his 2006 ‘Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing’ album, earned him his second Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance.

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2008: Love, Pain and the Whole Crazy Carnival Ride World Tour”

In early 2008, Keith Urban embarked on the ‘Love, Pain and the Whole Crazy Carnival Ride World Tour’ with fellow country star Carrie Underwood, which saw the duo perform their biggest songs at sold-out performances in 26 cities.

Later that year, Keith recorded a new version of the fan favourite ‘You Look Good in My Shirt’, a single from his 2002 ‘Golden Hour’ album. It became Urban’s eighth Number 1 single on the Hot Country Songs chart upon its release in June 2008.

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2009: ‘Defying Gravity’ is released

In March 2009 Keith Urban released his sixth studio album ‘Defying Gravity’, which stormed to the top stop on both the country chart and Billboard 200. The album produced two Number 1 singles – ‘Sweet Thing’ and ‘Only You Can Love Me This Way’ – as well as two Number 3 hits ‘Kiss The Girl’ and ‘Til Summer Comes Around’.

The hit single ‘Sweet Thing’ would later secure Keith his third Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance. Months later, Keith embarked on the 2009 ‘Escape Together’ tour in support of the album and was joined by various support acts including Taylor Swift, Sugarland and Jason Aldean.

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2010: ‘Get Closer’ is released

Keith Urban released his seventh studio album, ‘Get Closer’ in November 2010. Its lead single ‘Put You in a Song’ went to Number 2 on the Hot Country Songs chart, followed by ‘Without You’, ‘Long Hot Summer’ and ‘You Gonna Fly’ – all of which hit the Number 1 spot.
Keith won his fourth Grammy Award in 2010 for Best Male Country Vocal Performance for the single ‘Til Summer Comes Around’, which featured on his ‘Defying Gravity’ album.

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2011: ‘Get Closer’ world tour

In support of his latest album, Keith Urban set out on his ‘Get Closer’ world tour in April 2011. He started in Adelaide, Australia and ended the tour in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in October 2011.

During the 2011 CMA Awards, Keith performed his hit ‘You Gonna Fly’. The audience at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville enjoyed the performance so much, he was given a standing ovation.

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2012: Grand Ole Opry induction and The Voice

After performing at the country music institution multiple times during his career, Keith Urban was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry by country star Trace Adkins on 21st April 2012. The country singer was the first person to become a member from outside of North America.

That same year, Keith appeared as a judge on the Australian version of TV singing competition The Voice, alongside Deltra Goodrem, Seal and Joel Madden.

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2013: ‘Fuse’ is released and American Idol

Keith Urban released his eigth studio album ‘Fuse’ in September 2013, which stormed to the top of both the Billboard 200 and the Top Country Albums charts. The album produced four Number 1 singles, including a duet with Miranda Lambert titled ‘We Were Us’ and a duet with Eric Church titled ‘Raise ‘Em Up’. This was Keith Urban’s first studio album to chart in his native New Zealand.

Keith also made his first appearance as a judge on the 12th season of popular talent show American Idol in 2013 alongside fellow judges Randy Jackson, Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj.

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2014: More awards and American Idol

Keith’s duet with Miranda Lambert ‘We Were Us’, from his album ‘Fuse’, won the Musical Event of the Year award at the CMAs and Music Video of the Year award at the ACMs in 2014.
After winning audiences over with his personality in 2013, Keith Urban returned to American Idol for its 13th season in 2014. This time, however, he was joined by former judge Jennifer Lopez and newest judge Harry Connick Jr.

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2015: Farewell season of American Idol

Along with Jennifer Lopez and Harry Connick Jr., Keith Urban returned once again to be a judge on the 15th season of American Idol, otherwise known as ‘The Farewell Season’. This was the show’s final season on Fox before moving to ABC.
That same year, Keith appeared on ACM’s Superstar Duets where he performed ‘Swingin’ with country musician John Anderson (pictured). He also celebrated the 10th anniversary of his album ‘Golden Road’ in 2015, where it was certified triple Platinum.

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2016: ‘Ripcord’ is released

In May 2016, Keith Urban released his ninth studio album ‘Ripcord’ which debuted at Number 1 on the Top Country Albums chart, becoming Urban’s fifth chart-topping album. The album also produced three Number 1 singles – ‘Wasted Time’, ‘Break On Me’ and ‘Blue Ain’t Your Color’ – which spent 12 weeks at the top of the Hot Country Songs chart.

The album also included the singles ‘John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16’ and ‘The Fighter’, which is a duet featuring Carrie Underwood. Both reached the Number 2 spot on both the Hot Country Song chart and Country Airplay chart. Keith Urban went on to be selected to perform alongside 30 country artists on the medley track on ‘Forever Country’ to celebrate 50 years of the CMA Award.

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2017: ‘Female’ is released

Keith Urban released the single ‘Female’ in November 2017 and debuted it live at the 51st Annual CMA Awards. The song, which was partially inspired by the Harvey Weinstein scandal and promotes female empowerment, was the best-selling country song on the week of its debut – selling 21,000 copies in just a matter of days.

‘Female’ reached the Top 20 on both the Country Airplay chart and Hot Country Songs chart and would later become the lead single to his 2018 album ‘Graffiti U’.

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2018: ‘Graffiti U’ is released

In April 2018, Keith Urban released ‘Graffiti U’ – his 10th studio album. It debuted atop the Top Country Albums chart and at Number 2 on the Billboard 200 chart. The album featured the singles ‘Female’, ‘Parallel Line’, ‘Coming Home’ (featuring Julia Michaels) and ‘Never Comin’ Down’.

That same year, Keith won the coveted Entertainer of the Year at the 2018 CMAs and the Vocal Event of the Year award at the ACM awards for his duet with Carrie Underwood, ‘The Fighter’.

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2019: Entertainer of the Year award

For the second year in a row, Keith Urban was awarded the Entertainer of the Year award at the 2019 CMA Awards. During the award ceremony, Keith joined Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus on stage for a performance of their mega-hit ‘Old Town Road’ at the Nissan Stadium in Nashville.

In anticipation of his 11th studio album, Keith released the single ‘We Were’ which reached Number 4 on the Country Airplay chart and Number 7 on the Hot Country Songs chart upon its release in 2019.

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2020: ‘The Speed of Now Part 1’ is released

Keith Urban released his 11th studio album ‘The Speed of Now Part 1’ in September 2020 and it peaked at Number 1 on the Hot Country Songs charts. The album features the single ‘One Too Many’ – a duet with pop star P!nk – which reached the Top 20 on the Hot Country Songs chart and was debuted at the 2020 CMA Awards. It also includes singles ‘We Were’ and ‘God Whispered Your Name’, which reached Number 8 on the Country Airplay chart.

In response to the coronavirus pandemic, Keith Urban organised a secret drive-in concert at the Stardust Drive-In movie theatre where he played his biggest hits to 200 frontline medical workers from Vanderbilt Health.

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2021: The Voice and collaborations

Keith Urban is set to embark on his ‘The Speed Of Now: Volume I’ world tour in December 2021 and has recently released the single ‘Out The Cage’ featuring Breland & Nile Rodgers. Keith is also a featured artist on two tracks on Taylor Swift’s 2021 ‘Fearless (Taylor’s Version)’ album, titled ‘We Were Happy’ and ‘That’s When’. This album is a re-recording of her 2008 album ‘Fearless’, and is the result of a dispute over the master recordings of her songs.

Keith is also set to return as a judge for the 10th season of The Voice Australia this year, alongside fellow judges Rita Ora, Guy Sebastian and Jessica Mauboy.

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Keith Urban performing live on stage with a guitar on his ‘The Speed of Now World Tour’

2022: ‘The Speed of Now World Tour’

Following the release of ‘The Speed of Now Part 1’ in 2020, and tour dates seeing cancellations due to the pandemic, Keith Urban embarked on a significant world tour throughout 2022, playing shows across the globe. Starting the trek in Birmingham, England, on 28th April 2022, shows ran through all the way up until December, wrapping in Melbourne, Australia. The epic run served as Keith Urban’s 13th headlining concert tour, and featured opening acts such as Ingrid Andress and Tyler Hubbard.

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2023: Las Vegas residency

Throughout 2023, Keith gifted us with the ‘Keith Urban the Las Vegas Residency’, which saw him bring his dynamic stage presence and musical versatility to the entertainment capital of the world. The shows took place at the Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood in March, June and July, with extra shows being added in November.

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Keith Urban and Lainey Wilson performing live on stage

2024: ‘Go Home W U’ collab with Lainey Wilson

Featuring on Keith’s 12th studio album ‘High’ was his hit collaboration with country superstar Lainey Wilson, titled ‘Go Home W U’. The track was released on 3rd May 2024, and on top of hitting the Number 1 spot on the Australia Country Hot 50, also hit Number 7 on US Country Digital Songs (Billboard) chart. Describing the song as a ‘late night drum loop’, he also admitted it wasn’t initially intended to be a duet – however, when the notion was floated, the singer knew Lainey fitted the ‘swagger and attitude’ of the bop perfectly.

Keith released his 12th album ‘High’ on 20th September 2024 – with it flying to the very top of the Australian Country Albums chart. In 2025, the album was awarded Top Selling Australian Country Album of the Year.

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Keith Urban playing the guitar while performing live on stage at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas

2025: Las Vegas and the ‘High and Alive World Tour’

In a busy year for the singer, Keith completed another Las Vegas residency, which started in late 2024 and continued through to February 2025. ‘High in Vegas’ took place at the Fontainebleau, and aided the singer in refining his production before he embarked on his next world tour, which later began in May. The epic run includes dates across the US, Canada, and Australia, and features stellar opening acts such as Chase Matthew, Alana Springsteen and Karley Scott Collins.

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Keith Urban smiling on the 60th Academy of Country Music Awards red carpet

2025: Triple Crown Award at the 60th Academy of Country Music Awards

The 60th Academy of Country Music Awards took place on 8th May 2025 – with Keith bagging the highly coveted Triple Crown Award. The award is bestowed upon artists who have previously won New Artist of the Year, Male or Female Artist of the Year and Entertainer of the Year, with Megan Moroney, Chris Stapleton and Brothers Osborne on hand to perform in celebration of the incredible achievement. Watch the performance here.

Within his emotional acceptance speech, Keith thanked his wife Nicole Kidman, adding: “I have a massive team that I couldn’t possibly thank by name but I want to thank my team for working so insanely hard behind the scenes because there’s no such thing as a self-made man.”