Keith Urban doesn’t talk about his tattoos often, we’ve been able to learn a bit about each of his seven bits of ink throughout his years in the spotlight. Urban’s two bird tattoos in particular hold special meanings.
Years ago, Urban got an eagle tattooed over his right shoulder blade. It’s a personal emblem for his appreciation for America.
“I got an eagle because I was in America. I had just been spending time here, I was single and I thought, ‘It’s my birthday; I want to give myself a cool gift,'” Urban recounts. “I thought the eagle just seemed perfect. It was American, I had my freedom, and it was something that would be on this journey with me for my whole life.”
On his left arm, meanwhile, Urban has a tribal-style phoenix tattoo. This one has an even deeper significance.
“I’ve always loved symbolism and mythology, the symbolism of the phoenix being something that succumbs to the challenges and burns in the fire, but then is resurrected from the ashes and rises up even stronger than before,” Keith once explained to Women’s Wear Daily. “The ‘what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger’ story of the phoenix … I can relate very strongly to that, going through hard times and coming out the other end of it much stronger for the experience.”
Urban’s tattoos don’t stop at two, however. There are five other tats across the country superstar’s body — including two for his wife, actress Nicole Kidman. Read on to learn more about each of them:
This story was originally written by Marina Galperina, and revised by Angela Stefano.
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