Keith Urban Talks Ukeleles, Doris Day and the American Dream

Once upon a time, in the faraway land of Australia, little Keith Urban was given an instrument that would foreshadow his storybook future. In that twinkling of time, a future superstar was born. His first guitar? Not quite ...

"My dad gave me a ukelele when I was four, 'cause it was the right size, you know?" Keith tells CBS News. "He said I could strum it in time with the radio."

Keith began doing just that. And the youngster soon made another discovery that would shine a light on the path to stardom he would eventually take.

"My dad's record collection -- well, really my mom and dad's collection -- was all country records," Keith recalls. "I saw 'recorded in Nashville, Tennessee' written on the back of all of them, and so [I thought] this is where you go to make records. I think I was seven when I told my dad, I would move there. I always wanted to come to Nashville, since I was very young. It's the classic American dream story, really."

It would be hard to argue that Keith is indeed living the classic American dream -- married to the love of his life, actress Nicole Kidman, father of baby daughter, Sunday Rose, and a multi-platinum-selling, mega superstar playing sold out concerts around the globe.

But when he's preparing himself to perform before thousands of fans each night, Keith says he actually looks back in time, to immerse himself in a feel-good frame of mind.

"I listen to '40s music," he reveals. "When we were doing showcases here in Nashville, someone had given me a Doris Day greatest hits [CD]. I know this sounds bizarre. But there's something about that era -- Andrew Sisters, Doris Day -- where it's got that attitude of 'everything's fine, everything's cool' and laid back. And I'm just ready to play."

Also in the interview, Keith talks about his struggle with addition, dealing with the initial rejection of his music, and the aggressive things some fans will do during his live shows.