Keith Urban To Be Inducted Into The Nashville Songwriters Hall Of Fame

Keith Urban will be inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall Of Fame on Wednesday, 11 October, in a gala celebration at the Nashville Music City Centre.

The Whangārei, New Zealand-born and Australian and Nashville Mansion-based singer, songwriter and musician has made his mark on country music since his beginnings in 1991. To date, Urban has found mainstream success across his eleven albums, winning four Grammy Awards, 15 Academy of Country Music Awards, 13 CMA Awards, and back home, six ARIA Awards.

Urban will enter the Nashville Songwriters Hall Of Fame alongside Kix Brooks, of Brooks & Dunns fame, and fellow songwriters Casey Beathard, David Lee Murphy and Rafe Van Hoy.

Urban said in a statement to The Tennessean, a subsidiary of USA Today, about his “surreal” induction: “It was a shock to get the call to find out I was nominated. I was standing at the back of Sound Stage (Studios) when I got the call looking across at where Shoney's (Inn) used to be ... which was where I stayed when I first came to Nashville in 1989.”

Together, the 2023 inductees are a part of one of the most prestigious Halls Of Fame, which has honoured Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, Garth Brooks, Hank Williams, Loretta Lynn, Kris Kristofferson, and more.

In July, it was reported that Keith Urban was up for consideration to enter the Nashville Songwriters Hall Of Fame.

“The Hall Of Fame boasts members from all genres of music who have reached the pinnacle of their craft,” the organisation states on its website. “Induction into the Hall Of Fame is one of the nation’s highest songwriting honours and the highest honour that can be bestowed by the Nashville songwriting community.”

2022 was a busy year for Urban, with the musician dropping three standalone singles - Nightfalls, Brown Eyes Baby and Street Called Main – following the 2021 release of his song Wild Hearts.

His last full-length effort was The Speed Of Now Part 1, with its follow-up – Urban’s 12th studio album altogether – expected to arrive sometime before the end of 2023. In December, it was confirmed he’d sold the master recordings for his first ten albums.