What Is Keith Urban's Net Worth and Salary?
Keith Urban is a New Zealand-born and Australian-raised country music singer, songwriter, and record producer who has a net worth of $75 million. His success began with his debut album, "Keith Urban" (1991), and has continued for almost 20 years.
Early Life and Career Beginnings
Keith Lionel Urban was born on October 26, 1967, in Whangarei, New Zealand. He grew up in Caboolture, Queensland, Australia, where his father owned a convenience store. Keith took guitar lessons as a child from his teacher, Sue McCarthy, and began entering local music competitions.
In 1983, Urban competed on the Australian TV talent show "New Faces." During the rest of the 1980s, he continued building up a presence in the Australian country music scene with performances on television programs like "The Reg Lindsay Country Homestead TV program" and "Mike McClellan's Music Program" and at venues like the Northern Suburbs Country Music Club in Bald Hills.
Music Career
In 1990, Urban signed a record deal with EMI in Australia. He released his self-titled debut album in 1991 and toured as the backup act to Slim Dusty between 1993 and 1994. His first appearance at the Grand Ole Opry was actually a backing for Dusty. In 1992, Urban moved to Nashville, Tennessee. Keith began co-writing with Vernon Rust, and they wrote songs like Toby Keith's "Jesus Gets Jealous of Santa Claus" (1995), 4 Runner's "That Was Him (This Is Now)" (1996), and the Raybon Brother's "Tangled Up in Love" (1997).
In 1999, Urban released his American debut album, which was also self-titled. The single "Your Everything" hit #4, making him the first male New Zealand performer to reach the Top 10 on the US country charts. Its follow-up, "But for the Grace of God," was his first #1 hit. At the 2001 Academy of Country Music Awards, Keith won the Top New Male Vocalist Award, and he won the Horizon Award at the 2001 Country Music Association Awards.
His second American album, "Golden Road," was released in 2002. Out of the 13 songs on the album, Urban produced seven of them on his own and co-produced the remaining six with Dann Huff. The first single from the album, "Somebody Like You," spent six weeks at #1, and the fourth single, "You'll Think of Me," won him the Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance in 2005. In September 2005, "Golden Road" was certified triple platinum, achieving sales of three million copies. In support of Bryan Adams on his UK and Ireland tour, Urban performed in front of European audiences for the first time.
The album "Be Here" was released in 2004, and the lead single "Days Go By" became his fifth #1 hit on the country chart. His 2006 single "Once in a Lifetime" debuted at #17, setting a new record at the time for the highest-debuting country single; it peaked at #6. The following single, "Stupid Boy," went to #3 on the charts and earned Urban his second Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance in 2007. Both songs were off his 2006 album "Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing." In 2008, Keith embarked on the "Love, Pain and the Whole Crazy Carnival Ride World Tour" with fellow country singer Carrie Underwood.
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Urban's other albums are "Defying Gravity" (2009), "Get Closer" (2010), "Fuse" (2013), "Ripcord" (2016), and "Graffiti U" (2018). In addition to his own albums, notable singles Keith has appeared on as a guest artist include "Start a Band" (2008), a duet with Brad Paisley, "Blue Sky" with Emily West, Tim McGraw's single "Highway Don't Care" (2013), which features Urban playing guitar, and a 2015 duet with Eric Church called "Raise 'Em Up".
Television Appearances
In November 2011, Urban joined the cast of the Australian version of the reality singing competition "The Voice" as one of the four vocal coaches. He left the show after one season. In September 2012, the Fox Broadcasting Company announced that Keith would be joining the judging panel of the twelfth season of "American Idol." He replaced Steven Tyler and judged alongside Randy Jackson, Mariah Carey, and Nicki Minaj. He returned for seasons 13, 14 and 15.
Guitar Line
Urban announced during a concert in Tampa, Florida, in October 2013 that he would be selling guitars and accessories through the Home Shopping Network (HSN). In six months, the guitar packages were offered by the HSN twice, and sold 42,000 units. A portion of the sales proceeds went to The Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation and the Grammy Foundation.
Personal Life
Urban is a citizen of New Zealand, Australia, and the United States. In January 2005, Urban met Australian actress Nicole Kidman at G'Day LA, a Hollywood event promoting Australia. They began dating six months later and married in June 2006. They have two daughters together, Sunday Rose (born in 2008) and Faith Margaret (born in 2010).
Keith has struggled with substance abuse. While living in Nashville in the 1990s, he frequently used cocaine. He checked himself into Cumberland Heights, a treatment center in Nashville, in 1998. He checked into rehab for a second time in 2006, this time at the Betty Ford Center in California.
In 2007, Urban filed a lawsuit against a New Jersey painter with the same name who owned the website KeithUrban.com because he wanted to acquire the domain name. The painter counter-sued, and the lawsuit was eventually settled in the painter's favor.
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Real Estate
In total, Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman own at least $30 million worth of real estate around the world. Here is a rundown of their notable current and former properties:
In 2007, Keith and Nicole paid $2.7 million for a property in Franklin, Tennessee. They listed the property for sale in 2016 for $3.45 million and ultimately accepted $2.7 million in 2018.
In 2008, they paid $3.5 million for an impressive 12,000-square-foot mansion in one of Nashville's most exclusive neighborhoods. This has been their primary residence (mainly for the zero state income tax benefit) ever since. Also in 2008, they paid a little under $5 million for a home in Beverly Hills, California, and paid $4.1 million for a 111-acre farm in Bunya Hill, Australia.
In 2009, the couple bought a penthouse in Sydney for $4.2 million. In 2012, they paid $4.85 million for a neighboring unit to create an enormous all-floor penthouse.
In 2010, they paid $9.6 million for a duplex in New York City. The apartment is notable for its car elevator, which brings you straight from the street to your apartment door.
