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Keith Urban’s Sobriety Helped in Coping With Father-in-Law’s Death

Personal Priorities Changed Even More After Such a "Huge, Huge Loss"

During a recent conference call to talk to reporters about the upcoming season of American Idol, Keith Urban talked about how grateful he was for the show’s support immediately after the death of his father-in-law.

Dr. Anthony Kidman, Nicole Kidman’s father, died suddenly in September while visiting another daughter in Singapore.

And while Urban is genuinely happy for the way Idol helped -- sending former runner-up Adam Lambert to fill in for him during the Brooklyn auditions -- you could still hear the pain in his voice.

“Well, I mean, the loss of Nic’s dad was just a huge, huge loss,” Urban said. “I can’t even describe what that moment was like for our family. I was very, very close to Nic’s dad. It’s very fresh. It’s very recent.”

Urban credits his sobriety with helping him maintain his healthy perspective on life and family and coping with his father-in-law’s death.

“Look, eight years of sobriety, as well, has an impact on the way I feel in the world that I didn’t use to,” he said. “That’s had an incredible effect on my life, as well. It’s all just very fleeting. You lose a family member, and you’re reminded of the brevity of life and the fragility of it and how it can go very, very quickly.”

What he's learned is that he doesn't want to miss a thing.

"I don’t want to miss any of it. None of it. I don’t want to miss any time with Nic or our family," Urban said. "I don’t want to feel like I missed any musical things -- songs I could’ve written and all that sort of stuff.”

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