In a 2016 interview with Rolling Stone, country singer Keith Urban recounted not only how he went into recovery for substance abuse issues, but the reason why he began turning to alcohol and various hard drugs in the first place. His story, while framed by the trappings of fame and success, contains a common thread among alcoholics and addicts: issues of self-esteem and fear of failure.
According to Urban, the singer-songwriter first began using drugs — specifically cocaine — in 1992 after moving to Nashville from Australia. Despite the success Urban experienced in his home country with the debut of his self-titled album in 1990, the transition to the American country music scene was harder than he had anticipated. "When I was onstage, I felt good, but if I was not onstage, I was very, very insecure," Urban told Rolling Stone. "I felt like I didn't have much of anything to offer. I was just an alien." It was during this period of precarious uncertainty that Urban's roommate at the time offered him cocaine — an offer he accepted.
While Urban recalled that "things didn't immediately go pear-shaped," the event marked the beginning of what would become a years-long struggle with the cycle of addiction — one that became all-consuming. Shortly thereafter, Urban's then-girlfriend broke up with him because his "novelty" had "worn off." Her rejection "devastated" Urban, and that's when "s**t started to really go awry," he said.
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