Keith Urban closed out a challenging year with a vibrant performance on New Year’s Eve.

The 58-year-old country music star took the stage with energetic renditions of his hit “Straight Line” and the New Radicals’ classic “You Get What You Give” during the broadcast of New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash on December 31. Dressed in a black shirt and dark jeans, Urban delivered the catchy lyrics of “Straight Line,” including, “I ain’t buyin’ this life’s gotta be such a mother / ‘Cause we kinda got it all when we got each other / You and me used to be like a year-round summer / Let’s go back / Oh, hit the gas.”

The event, broadcasted on CBS and streamed via Paramount+, was hosted by comedian Bert Kreischer and country artist Hardy. It also showcased performances from a stellar lineup, including Jason Aldean, Lainey Wilson, Bailey Zimmerman, Brooks and Dunn, Dwight Yoakam, and other notable names.

This New Year’s Eve celebration marked Urban’s first major public appearance since his separation from wife Nicole Kidman became public in September. The announcement of their split was quickly followed by Kidman filing for divorce, citing “irreconcilable differences” after nearly two decades of marriage. The couple has two daughters, Sunday Rose, 17, and Faith, 15.

Reflecting on the breakup, signs of trouble in Urban and Kidman’s marriage had surfaced earlier. A source revealed to Us Weekly on September 29 that the couple had indeed parted ways after close to 20 years together. Kidman, 58, and Urban, 57, originally crossed paths in 2005, four years after Kidman’s divorce from Tom Cruise.

“They had been quietly separated for a while now but needed time to figure out if they were going to actually divorce,” a source exclusively told Us Weekly in October. “She had faith they could work it out.”

According to the insider, Urban was the one who pulled the plug on his marriage to Kidman, 58.

“This wasn’t Nicole’s decision, and she is devastated,” the source continued. “Her trust was lost, and it was too far gone. Nicole had been trying to get them to work on their marriage and did not want this to get out to the public. She didn’t tell many friends what was really going on with them and was holding this in for months.”

While Urban and Kidman once appeared to be the ideal A-list couple, they were actually spending “a lot of time apart due to work commitments” and living “separate lives” behind the scenes.

“Nicole and Keith were not on the same page,” the insider told Us. “Rumors around town have been circling that they were living apart, were focused on their own projects and that Keith had moved on. They are moving in two different directions, and their worlds are not overlapping as much as they once did. The distance between them had grown more obvious recently.”

Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban appear to be hammering out the details of their split following the Babygirl actress’ divorce filing. Kidman, 58, filed for divorce from Urban, 57, in Nashville on Tuesday, September 30, according to court documents obtained by Us Weekly. She cited “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for the dissolution of their […]

Later in October, a source revealed that Kidman was in a “good headspace” amid her divorce from Urban, but “the hardest part” of the situation was “navigating the dynamic with their daughters.”

“The last thing Nicole wanted was a broken family,” the insider told Us, adding that Kidman “raised her daughters to be strong and is leading by example for them.”

As a new single mom, Kidman planned to “focus on creating new traditions with her daughters and keeping their home life as steady and loving as possible.”

Urban, for his part, “has moved on and has been open with Nicole about where he stands,” a source told Us in October, noting that their divorce was a “long time coming.”

Per the insider, “The two had grown apart quietly over time, and by the end, the decision to separate was more about acceptance than surprise.”