Keith Urban: Singing National Anthem for Nashville Predators Was ‘One of the Proudest Moments, Ever, in My Life’
Keith Urban moved to America from Australia in the early 1990s, so although he's been in the country for more than two decades, he'd never been asked to sing the National Anthem -- until Tuesday night (May 16). For the first time ever, Urban sang "The Star-Spangled Banner," prior to the Nashville Predators Stanley Cup Playoffs Western Conference Final game, and he was positively thrilled to do so.
"I've lived in America 25 years, [but] I've never been asked to sing the National Anthem, so it was such an honor to do it here in Nashville for the Preds," Urban tells NHL Network's Jon Morosi. "It's a nerve-wracking experience, but, above all, it's a huge honor. It was -- for me, probably -- for all the years I've lived here, one of the proudest moments, ever, in my life."
The Predators have advanced to the NHL's Western Conference Final for the first time in the team's history, and Urban says it's "phenomenal to see them come this far;" he calls the team, which first played in the NHL during the 1998-1999 season, "such a pride of Nashville right now." After his Anthem performance, Urban shared a video on social media of himself and his wife, actress Nicole Kidman, cheering on the team in the stands. The singer says it's his wife who's the bigger Preds fan.
"She's the one getting us down to games," Urban confesses. "I mean, I'm always ready to get in the car too, but she's ready to go."
The Nashville Predators’ National Anthem singers during the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs have, thus far, all been country stars: Carrie Underwood and Luke Bryan sang the Anthem during the Preds’ two home Round 1 playoff games, while Little Big Town, Vince Gill and his daughters Jenny and Corinna and Lady Antebellum sang during Round 2.
The Predators won Tuesday night's game, the third in their series vs. the Anaheim Ducks; they now lead the series 2-1. Nashville defeated the Chicago Blackhawks four games to none during their first Stanley Cup Playoffs series to advance to Round 2; they then defeated the St. Louis Blues four games to two in that series to advance to Round 3. Their series vs. Anaheim is the final set of games before the Stanley Cup Final.
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