Keith Urban returned to the stage for a cruise ship performance as he continues to adjust to a new life following his high-profile split from Nicole Kidman.
The country music star, now 58, appeared in front of a crowd of just over 1,000 people as they sailed through the Bahamas — with those close to the star suggesting the job is one he previously would have rejected.
The performance took place aboard the Top Shelf Country Cruise, a US-based cruise line that blends travel with live country music. The ship regularly hosts well-known and established country artists who perform for fee-paying passengers during the trip.
Alongside Urban, names like Riley Green, Chris Young, The Mavericks and Lauren Alaina have all taken part in similar gigs down the years.
Despite the somewhat smaller crowd size compared to arena venues he often fills, the experience isn’t exactly low-budget. Passengers reportedly pay between $6,700 and $19,000 for the seven day cruise. That price includes access to performances from multiple artists across the voyage.
According to those close to the star, this isn’t the type of job he would have accepted in the past.
‘It’s the kind of gig that Keith would have turned his nose up at during his marriage to Nicole Kidman,’ an insider told US magazine New Idea recently.
The timing of the performance comes just two months after his and Nicole’s divorce was finalised.
While the settlement reportedly didn’t specifically require him to pay spousal or child support, it is still believed to have been costly to him.
‘When there’s that much money involved in a split, the lawyers don’t come cheap, regardless of the outcome,’ the source went on to say. ‘Cruise ships are not exactly the dream gig, but they pay the bills – and it gives Keith something to focus on.
‘He’s trying to stay busy now that his divorce is finalised.’
Keith has long been reported to have a net worth exceeding $100m, while the divorce has sparked fresh questions about his true financial position.
There are no confirmed figures for what he earned from the recent cruise performance but the insider suggests the motivation wasn’t purely financial as the opportunity to work and keep busy proved tempting.
‘He’s putting a bright spin on everything right now, but singing on a cruise ship is a big change from performing at his own sell-out tour last year,’ they said.
‘However, Keith is determined to keep working while he figures out, with his new management team, some exciting plans for the latter part of this year.’
Away from the stage, Urban’s lifestyle is also said to have shifted a little. Reports claim he is now living a quieter existence in Nashville.
The couple share two daughters together, Sunday Rose, 17, and Faith Margaret, 15. Their care arrangements were settled back in January as part of the divorce agreement.
The outcome was that Nicole has custody of the girls for majority of the time, spending 306 days of the year with them. While Keith has them for the remaining 59 days.
The last time Keith was seen publicly with his daughters was back in December 2024.
The musician is said to be ‘heartbroken’ after Sunday Rose – his eldest daughter – failed to mention him in an recent interview where she praised her mother for the role she has played in her life.
Speaking to Elle Australia for its March edition, the 17-year-old model described Kidman as being one of the biggest creative inspirations in her life.
‘My mum is someone who has always been so creative and my biggest inspiration in life,’ Sunday Rose told the publication. ‘She is a key part of everything I do.’
