Keith Urban’s ‘Awkward’ Moment At A Truck Stop

Keith Urban is, as you might assume, a rather wealthy guy. That comes with millions of albums sold, decades of headlining arenas, not to mention a movie star wife. However, not too long ago, while he was on tour, he was mistaken for a down-on-his-luck guy with no money.

Keith told us the funny story. "I was going to a gig, and I had just gotten picked up at the airport. And I hadn't eaten. I saw a little truck stop, and I said to my tour manager, 'Let me just run in and grab something quickly.' I ran into the store and got a sandwich and a drink and whatever, and I went to the checkout, and I realized I've got sweatpants on, and my luggage had gone on, and I don't have any money on me."

Urban had a line of patrons behind him. He continued, "I'm like, 'Aw, what do I do?' I didn't have my phone, so I told the lady, 'Can you just pause one second? I'm gonna run out and get some money from my tour manager.' And a lady who was in the line said, 'I'll just pay for him; I'll just pay for his thing.' I'm like, 'No, no, no, it's okay. I can pay for it; it's okay.' She goes, 'No, my husband and I like doing this for people,' and she just paid for all this food."

Keith was stuck. He explained, "It was such an awkward, beautiful moment that this lady was insistent. And also when you've got people behind you backed up, and everyone's just like, 'Can we get on with it, please? We're busy; take the lady's money and just go.' It was an awkward spot to be doing the right things. She had no idea who I was. It was a strange moment; she was very, very kind, very hospitable."

Urban and his team were able to pay the woman back in their own way. He told us, "We reached out to her, and we invited her to the show to make sure that she was reciprocated for her extraordinary generosity because she wouldn't take any money or anything. It was crazy. She said her and her husband do it regularly at the store. They just go down and just pay for someone's whatever. I just happened to be the guy that day."

Keith Urban celebrates his 56th birthday today (10/26). Keith has enjoyed a long and storied career, winning countless awards and performing for fans for many years. He is a good friend to many in the industry and always steps up when someone needs a helping hand or wants to collaborate.

Urban was inducted into the Nashville Songwriter's Hall of Fame earlier this month (10/11). He received the honor along with Kix Brooks, David Lee Murphy, Casey Beathard, and Rafe Van Hoy. Dolly Parton introduced and talked about Keith at the event.

Before he was inducted, Keith told us, "Being invited into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame is hands down one of the highest honors that's ever happened to me. I've always loved writing songs. I've always loved great songwriters, and this is a songwriting town."

He added, "The song is the very first thing. To be in this group, this incredible group of songwriters is a bit surreal. Honestly, it's probably still sinking in."

Urban was thrilled to be inducted alongside many of his friends, especially Kix Brooks of Brooks and Dunn. Brooks was a champion of Keith's in the early days of his Nashville career. He offered, "This particular group, this Class of '23, is surreal. I know all of these guys; Casey Beathard is the only guy that I haven't really met, but I've known David Lee Murphy for a long time, Rafe Van Hoy, Kix Brooks, of course."

He explained, "Kix is like my brother from another mother. He was one of the first people in town to really get behind what I was doing. I had a band at the time called The Ranch, and Kix came and saw us play in a tiny little club. (He) invited us to go out and open some shows for Brooks & Dunn even before we ever had any music out. We had nothing on the radio. He was just a great believer of mine. So to be inducted in the same year that Kix is particularly sweet."

Keith has released many music videos throughout his career. To celebrate his birthday, we picked six videos that everyone must see.

The video begins with shots of various wreckage bobbing along the water's surface, including a guitar, a telephone, sheet music, and other items. Urban is out on the water, using a bobbing sofa as a life raft as he floats along. Then, back on shore, Pink sits alone on the beach, looking out to sea. Keith said of Pink when the song came out, "I've always loved Pink's voice, but her artistry and her multi-faceted ability to create, and her God-given talent, truly makes her one of the greatest voices of our time."

This duet with Carrie Underwood was a massive hit for Urban in 2017. The two also sang it together on a couple of award shows that year. The video which shows him and Underwood singing together while a young woman, who looks a lot like Carrie but is not, dances around. This video is one of his biggest ones and has over 1.2 million views on YouTube.

To promote his song "The Fighter" in 2017, Keith playfully joins his wife Nicole Kidman in their car while the song plays, and they sing it together. Urban has said the song was written about his relationship with Nicole. That video, which was shot on a phone that sat on the dashboard, has been viewed over ten million times. It starts with Kidman saying when she hears the guitar intro, "Oh my gosh, I love this song!"

This was one of Keith's first official music videos and it's from his first number-one song. The video shows a very young and handsome Urban sitting in a house and singing the song's lyrics in front of a fireplace. He also walks down a city street at night.

This video really captures the feel of the song (which Keith co-wrote). He said to fans on Instagram when it came out, "To all of the lost ones who aren't really lost ones, this song is for you. We are WILD HEARTS!" Urban told us of the song, "I'm here to tell you anything can happen in this life if you got the heart and the passion and a God-lit fire inside."

This song is what Keith says was the turning point in his career when it shot to number one on the country charts in 2002. He said, "'Somebody Like You' was one of the most important songs for me that happened and, to a large degree, just sent my career into a whole different speed in a really wonderful way." The video for the song is also visually stunning, showing Urban playing guitar and banjo and singing in the wild while the sun glares through his silhouette.