Many think of country music as an exclusively “American” genre. But anyone who truly knows the genre also knows that notion is completely false. There are country fans around the world, and talented musicians and singers who aspire to someday become country artists themselves.
Keith Urban was one of those people. As a young child growing up in Australia, his parents surrounded him with the sounds of country music. From Glen Campbell to Dolly Parton, Urban developed a love for country music that he has carried from his childhood to his adult life.
Eventually, Urban made the journey from Australia to the United States, and more specifically, Nashville, in the hopes of making it big in the industry he adored so much. After years of hard work, Urban achieved his big break, and he is now one of the biggest and most respected names in the genre.
But the road that brought Urban here wasn’t an easy one. As he revealed in a recent interview with Rolling Stone, he had to overcome major hardships from a young age.
When Urban was small, his parents ran a convenience store in the city of Brisbane. But they eventually decided to move to a farm about an hour north of the city when Urban was ten.
“Our house burned down and we had to live in our tin tractor shed for 18 months, my older brother, Shane, and I sleeping in a single bed on one side of a big workbench, my parents on the other, and it looked like a squatter’s residence.”
Despite their hardships, the family recovered, and although it wasn’t exactly a positive moment in his life, Urban looks back on it with a sense of fondness.
“All that, for me, is a great memory,” he said.
Urban managed to overcome all of the obstacles life threw in his path, and now he’s living his dream as one of the biggest stars in country music. Listen to his most recent single, “Wasted Time,” which is currently tearing up the charts!
What do you think about Urban’s confession concerning his childhood?
