Keith Urban will be honoured with the Triple Crown Award at this year’s Academy of Country Music Awards.
The 57-year-old singer will become the first star to be handed such an accolade live on the ACM stage since Carrie Underwood was awarded the Triple Crown Award in 2010.
Following the announcement, he said: “I came halfway around the world to live in Nashville. “It was my dream since I was seven years old. All I ever wanted to do was write songs, try and get them recorded, try and get them on the radio, and now get them on streaming.
“And hopefully people like them and want to come and see me live. That’s never changed.”
Brothers Osborne, Chris Stapleton and Megan Moroney will make tribute performances to the star at the May 8th event, at the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas, in honour of his achievement.
Stars can only receive the ACM Awards’ Triple Crown Award if they have won the top three prizes at the ceremony.
Urban has done so after he won Top New Male Vocalist in 2001, Male Vocalist of the Year in 2005 and 2006, and he scooped the Entertainer of the Year accolade in 2019.
Keith admitted it didn’t feel “real” when he was first nominated for Academy of Country Music Awards.
He added: “I remember the first time seeing my name in the nominees and it felt like when you go to the theme park and you can get your picture taken and put on the front of a fake Time Magazine as a souvenir. I felt like that.
“It wasn’t real. It had that surreal quality.”
Keith finally scooped the Entertainer of the Year prize six years ago, after he was previously nominated and lost out on eight occasions.
The star admitted he felt “content and grateful” to receive a nod, but when he did land the elusive accolade it was a “wonderful blessing”.
He said: “I would just celebrate the nomination, not really thinking I’m going to win and I’m good with that. I was very content and grateful.
“And so [to win] – and in hindsight, now, for it to happen the year before COVID – was particularly a wonderful blessing because it was a big night, an arena full of people celebrating.”