THUNDER FROM DOWN UNDER

Keith Urban relaxes in his chair. He is thinking of his grandfather, a piano player who - like him - was obsessed with music. Keith's grandparents were married for over 60 years before his grandfather died. Afterward, his grandmother told Keith something that disturbed him.

"She said she always felt a little bit saddened by the fact that she always came second to music," says Keith, furrowing his brow. "I told her, 'You can't ever look at yourself as being second to that - everything is second to that. That's like saying you're second to breathing. Think of it this way: You came first out of all the people.' "

Like his granddad, Keith eats, drinks and breathes music - and it's finally paying off.

After a dozen years kicking around in Nashville, the 37-year-old from the farming community of Caboolture, Australia, has ascended to the top ranks of country stardom. His third solo album, Be Here, recently debuted at No. 1, and his song "Days Go By" hit the top spot as well. His new hit, "You're My Better Half," is quickly climbing the chart.

The crowning moment came at the CMA Awards in November, when Keith was the surprise winner of the Male Vocalist trophy, beating out heavyweights George Strait, Alan Jackson, Kenny Chesney and Toby Keith.

"I was absolutely shocked, and still am," he says. "I was totally bewildered. Alan, Toby, Kenny and George are major players, so to win it is surreal. It seemed an impossible summit."

It's one he has spent a long time climbing to reach. After arriving in America in 1992, he formed a critically lauded three-piece band called The Ranch, which released its sole album in 1997 before Keith went his own way. And while his solo career has been a success from the start - hits like "But for the Grace of God," "Where the Blacktop Ends," "Somebody Like You" and "Raining on Sunday" attest to that - the last few months have been something else altogether.

The platinum Be Here's first-week sales doubled those of his previous album, The Golden Road, and he's gone from opening act to headliner in the last year. "It's just amazing," he says. "It's night and day. God, it's a different era, it really is."

- Chris Neal

To read more about Keith Urban's rise to stardom, pick up the new Country Weekly on newsstands today!