Keith Urban: “The one thing I wish I’d done earlier”
Keith Urban might be one of our greatest exports and one of our most successful home-grown country music talents, but that doesn’t mean the Queensland-raised superstar doesn’t have any regrets about how his career has progressed.
Speaking at a packed session at South by Southwest Music Conference (SXSW) in Texas over the weekend, Urban admitted he wished he hadn’t waited so long to get sober.
The 50-year-old believes his alcohol addiction stopped him from fulfilling his full potential, and still relies on his sobriety sponsor to keep anxiety about his career at bay.
“I wished I had gotten sober many years before I did, but I’m glad I finally got here,” says Urban.
“It has made it possible to do the things I do. I wasn’t at my full potential. I was enslaved, is what I was.”
Urban, who famously entered rehab in 1998, is set to announce details about a new album Graffiti U in the coming weeks.
“I have a very good (sobriety) sponsor; He said to me, ‘Keith, do you know how much people think of you?… Rarely.’ It’s a great leveller.”
Urban also credited his wife, actor Nicole Kidman.
“The way I approach it (now) is, ‘Let’s do it. We can scrap it after the fact.’ I learned that from my wife,” he added.
What are your thoughts? Are you a Keith Urban fan?