Keith Urban admits he has ‘animalistic, wild, reckless, irresponsible’ side

Keith Urban is highlighting both the joys and struggles of his life in his new country-rock album "High."

Last Friday, the 56-year-old singer released his 11th studio album, which marked his first new record in four years. During a recent interview with the Associated Press, Urban explained how "High" reflects dual sides of his personality.

"I’ve got a dutiful, responsible, reliable side. And I’ve got this animalistic, wild, reckless, irresponsible, ‘What does this button do?,’" Urban said. "The spirit of those two things is very much a part of who I am, and this album hopefully captures that."

The four-time Grammy Award winner first announced his new album in a June Instagram post. He wrote that "High" was based on a "prior record I started in 2022." Urban previously revealed that he had completed another record titled "615," which he ultimately discarded after being dissatisfied with the result.

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In his Instagram post, Urban explained that "High" was "completely expressive, true, honest and . . . so much more of what I actually wanted to say when making that scrapped record." 

"I hope these songs bring you joy, levity, some new understanding, energy, and escape!" he added.

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In a press release, Urban revealed that the new album's title was inspired by his interpretation of the multi-faceted meaning of the word "high."

"What makes you ‘high’ can mean whatever you want it to mean," he said. "It might be physical, spiritual, herbal, meditative, chemical or musical, but it’s definitely a place of utopia."

He continues, "For me it’s my family, my friends, and this rollercoaster musical journey I’m on. Playing guitar, writing songs and the place where I always feel high — playing live. Every night I get a chance to bring an energy and a release to people."

After overcoming a challenging past, Urban is now a happily married family man. The singer and Nicole Kidman, who tied the knot in 2006, share daughters Sunday Rose, 16, and Faith Margaret, 13. 

Urban has also been sober for 18 years after entering rehab for the third time shortly after marrying Kidman.

However, Urban explained in a recent interview with the Daily Telegraph that he wanted his new album to encompass times from the entirety of his life. "High" includes songs about Urban's hard-partying days, battle with addiction and growing up with an alcoholic father.

"I’ve got a dutiful, responsible, reliable side. And I’ve got this animalistic, wild, reckless, irresponsible, ‘What does this button do?'"

— Keith Urban

Urban told the Daily Telegraph that the music video for his song "Messed Up As Me" is set "across 2.45 am to sunrise."

"A lot of things happen in those hours, and I’ve been in every scene," he said.

"I’ve got plenty of things to mine, you know," Urban added. "This record is definitely not only about where I’m at; that would make it a very linear record.

"Definitely, I’ve lived a life, and been a lot of people, and a lot of those people are represented in these songs."

While speaking with the Associated Press, Urban explained that it was important to him that the album conclude with the song "Break the Chain," in which he delves into dysfunctional family dynamics.

"It’s a lot to do with my dad and being born into a family with an alcoholic father and the challenges that come with that," he said. "My job is to now maybe break that chain and do something different." 

"But I never mentioned alcohol in the song once, because I didn’t want the song to be about that," Urban continued. 

"It’s really about behavioral patterns that we all learn very quickly to survive in whatever environment that we’re in." 

Urban told the AP that he co-wrote "Break the Chain" with singer-songwriter Marc Scibilia on the first day they met and they began the process without having much conversation. The second line that came to Urban was "Never sure/What made him so mad at the world/Mad at me/I was just a kid/I won’t do the same."

The "Someboy Like You" hitmaker recalled that he had a strong emotional reaction after penning the lyric.

"I just burst out crying on this guy’s couch, just like in a fetal position, like I’m in therapy," Urban remembered. 

"He looks over and he just goes, ‘Hmm, must be true,'" he said of Sciblia. "And then went back to work. And it was the perfect reaction, because it wasn’t judgmental. It was of no opinion. And he just let me stay in it and finish out the song. And then that was it."

However, Urban said that like all of the songs on "High," from the clear-as-day goodtime tracks and the others that might center on more complicated emotions, it’s "a hopeful song."

"It’s offering hope and a way through a situation that a lot of people might find themselves in," he explained.

Over the years, Urban has been transparent about his own journey to sobriety after battling drug addiction and alcoholism.

In a 2021 interview with Rolling Stone, Urban recalled that his troubles began after he moved to Nashville from Australia, where he had previously released four hit albums. Urban explained that he felt like an outsider as a foreigner trying to make it in the country music scene.

"Nothing I’d done before meant s---," he says. "I felt like I was meant to be here, I had this absolute burning belief, but I was out of step with everything. I mean, what do you do when you’re doing your best, and it’s not enough?"

"When I was onstage, I felt good, but if I was not onstage, I was very, very insecure," he added. "I felt like I didn’t have much of anything to offer. I was just an alien."

Urban recalled that a painful breakup with a woman who had told him that the "novelty of you has worn off" had fueled his descent into addiction.

"You might say, ‘Big deal.' But I was feeling insecure, and the fact that me and my accent would be a novelty to somebody cut me to the core," he said. "Oh, my God. Really bad. It devastated me. It was a turning point. After that, s--- started to really go awry." 

"I stepped up my drinking," he continued. "I started doing more drugs. Yeah, man. The whole back end of the Nineties were just awful."

After years as a struggling artist, Urban made his career breakthrough in 1999 when he released his self-titled debut album. The record, which notched four singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and was certified platinum, launched Urban into country music stardom.

Despite finding career success, Urban continued to struggle with his addictions to alcohol and drugs. 

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"It took me a long time to get sober," he told Rolling Stone. "Took me a long time to recognize my alcoholism. A long time, because I didn’t drink like my dad, so I compared everything to him. So it just took a long time for me. But I was able to finally make the right choice in my life, that I wish my dad would have made."

In 2015, Urban's father Robert died after a long battle with prostate cancer.

After two failed stints in rehab, Urban was finally able to conquer his own addiction problems after he married Kidman in 2006. Four months into their marriage, Kidman staged an intervention, and Urban agreed to enter rehab again.

"That's the point right there where she really should've just walked," Urban told Oprah Winfrey in 2010. "I'm just so glad she didn't, and she made a decision to turn around and initiate ultimately this intervention, and it was done in such a way that the love in that room at that moment was just right. I was like, 'Put the cuffs on, let's go.'"

While speaking with Rolling Stone, Urban said that it was a "miracle" that their marriage survived. 

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"I was spiritually awoken with her," the singer said of Kidman. "I use the expression ‘I was born into her,’ and that’s how I feel. And for the first time in my life, I could shake off the shackles of addiction." 

In June 2024, Urban gave a heartfelt tribute to Kidman when she was honored with the 49th AFI Life Achievement Award. The couple's daughters, Sunday and Faith, joined their parents at the star-studded event, which marked their red carpet debut.

During his speech at the ceremony, Urban recalled how Kidman's love for him persevered despite the rocky start to their marriage.

"We got married in June 2006, and barely four months into our marriage, my addictions that I’d done really nothing about, blew our marriage to smithereens, and I went into the Betty Ford Center for three months," he told the crowd.

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"Four months into a marriage, I’m into rehab for three months, with no idea what was going to happen to us," he continued. "And if you want to see what love in action really looks like, give that a whirl."

"Nic pushed through every negative voice, I'm sure, even some of her own," Urban added. "And she chose love. And here we are tonight, 18 years later."

In a video of the speech, Kidman was seen wiping away tears while sitting in the audience next to Sunday and Faith.

Ahead of performing at the 2023 Academy of Country Music Awards, Urban shared the secret to their successful union.

"It’s always family first," he said in an interview with Fox News Digital.

"It's balanced, so it means it goes out of balance sometimes, and we just put it back in balance," Urban added. "It's never perfectly in balance, but we get it back on track."

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