Keith Urban Recalls ‘Surreal’ Experience of Playing With the Rolling Stones

Keith Urban is one of the most famous faces in music thanks to his award-winning career and recurring role as a judge on 'American Idol,' but he also has his own idols that he admires. So when he was invited to perform with the Rolling Stones at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Calif., in 2013, he jumped at the opportunity.

"It's hard to describe that one," Urban tells the Times Colonist. "Surreal, obviously. I just wish it was a longer song, really. Mick [Jagger] picks a two-and-a-half minute song ['Respectable'], and it's like, bummer. I wish we could have chosen 'Sympathy for the Devil' or something that's a little bit longer.

"It was really fun playing with him," Urban adds. "I just loved it."

For the country music superstar, the highlight of the concert, which also included appearances by Gwen Stefani and former Stones guitarist Mick Taylor, was the run-through before the live show.

"The great thing was getting to rehearsals in the afternoon ... and there's all the boys up there running through all the songs for the show," Urban recalls. "Their ferocity, particularly Mick [Jagger]'s, it's really matchless. He's one of the great, great frontmen of all time, and to be inches away from him, singing on the same mic, was a really surreal experience."

Urban will head to Niagara Falls, Ontario, this week to headline a live, televised New Year's Eve concert, which will also include performances by Nick Jonas, Lights and Shawn Mendes.