Keith Urban Crowned 2018 CMA Awards Entertainer of the Year

Wednesday night (Nov. 14) will be forever etched in Keith Urban's mind, as the evening he was crowned the 2018 CMA Awards Entertainer of the Year. Competition for the night's biggest award was tight, with Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Kenny Chesney and Chris Stapleton as contenders, but Urban pulled ahead of the rest, nabbing this year's trophy.

An award that the likes of Johnny Cash and Dolly Parton have won, Entertainer of the Year landed in the right hands with Urban. Lionel Richie presented the prestigious award to Urban, who held wife Nicole Kidman in a long embrace before he arrived onstage. Urban teared up, saying he was "shocked beyond shocked" and shouted out his family in a long list of thank-yous.

It's been 13 years since the country powerhouse won this much-deserved award. His touring history, electric live shows and ingenious songwriting set him up as the perfect candidate.

The last time Urban won CMA Entertainer of the Year was in 2005, and he's been working hard on his craft since then. His 10th studio album, Graffiti U, released earlier this year, was led by the memorable and relevant single "Female," followed by "Coming Home" (featuring pop singer-songwriter Julia Michaels); the record gave Urban his sixth No. 1 on the country charts. The singer's Graffiti U World Tour kicked off in June, and its Australian leg is slated for January and February. Urban is co-headlining C2C: Country to Country, Europe's largest music festival, in 2019.

See All the Looks From the 2018 CMA Awards Red Carpet