Keith Urban is the latest recipient of the ACM Triple Crown Award. Urban was given the trophy during the live ACM Awards ceremony, after he was honored with performances by Megan Moroney, Chris Stapleton and Brothers Osborne.

“I want to thank the ACM Academy for this, and my wife, Nicole Mary, whose here tonight,” Urban said when accepting his trophy. “I love you, baby girl. Our girls, Sunny and Faith, watching at home tonight, I love you both, too. I have a massive team that I couldn’t possibly thank by name, but I want to thank my team for working so insanely hard behind the scenes, because there’s no such thing as a self-made man. I want to thank my road band and my road family, and I want to say a special thanks to all the fans that have been coming out to see us play. I really appreciate it.

“Country radio, my record company, Capitol Records, and the most amazing promo team out there, thank you for kicking it on Straight Line ,'” he continued. “We’re gonna be out on tour at the end of this month, the High and Alive World Tour. Thank you so much. We’ll see you soon.”

Ahead of receiving the honor, Urban opened up about its significance. He was eligible for the Triple Crown Award, last given during the ACM Awards to Carrie Underwood in 2010, because he won Top New Male Vocalist in 2001, Male Vocalist of the Year in 2005 and 2006 and Entertainer of the Year in 2019.

“I came halfway around the world to live in Nashville,” Urban told Billboard. “It was my dream since I was seven years old. All I ever wanted to do was write songs, try and get them recorded, try and get them on the radio, and now get them on streaming. And hopefully people like them and want to come and see me live. That’s never changed.”

Urban moved from Australia to the United States with little more than a dream. The Grand Ole Opry member hopes that others who see his success, all around the globe, are inspired by his story.

“In particular, if it inspires some people from other countries who have a dream of coming to America, then that’s a good thing,” Urban maintains. “It took a lot of years of living in [Nashville] and becoming part of the community. But it’s absolutely achievable if you’re willing to put in the hard work and the time.”

Urban has by now amassed plenty of awards, but he still remembers the feeling of starting out, and the early indications of the massive career he has now.

“I remember the first time seeing my name in the nominees,” Urban recalled. “It felt like when you go to the theme park and you can get your picture taken and put on the front of a fake Time magazine as a souvenir. I felt like that. It wasn’t real. It had that surreal quality.”

See a list of all of the AMC Awards winners here. Find all of Urban’s music and tour dates at KeithUrban.com.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of the ACM / Richard Polk