If you were to fall in love with a world renowned, Oscar-winning actress, the most important thing on your mind would be whether or not she liked country music, right? Well, it was for Keith Urban, who fell for now-wife Nicole Kidman even though she wasn’t familiarized with his lifeblood, country music.

“When I first brought my wife to Nashville I thought, ‘I hope she loves Nashville, but I really hope she loves country music,’” Keith told Sirius XM’s The Highway with a laugh. “She didn’t know a whole lot about the genre and I thought, ‘What’s a good way to ease her into this music that I’ve grown up loving?’”

If all else fails, go to the store, as Keith and Nicole. “So, we went to the record store and I bought a Waylon Jennings record and several other records,” Keith explains. “I put them in the car and the first song I played for her was ‘Are You Sure Hank Done it This Way,’ and I didn’t tell her who it was or what it was. I just said we’ve got a lot of music to listen to.”

This could have been the ‘do or die’ moment for their relationship, but since we know how the story ended, Nicole obviously had a positive reaction. “I hit play and the minute that bass drum started and the guitar started she said, ‘Oh I like this, turn this up!’” Keith recalls. “We turned it up as loud as the stereo would allow in the car and she instantly fell in love with this song and I believe from there country music. What a perfect way to get her into it.”

Since then, Nicole has not only shown her support for the genre but has become involved in Keith’s musical career. Singer-songwriter Radney Foster credits her as the reason Keith recorded ‘I’m In’ for his last album, ‘Defying Gravity.’

“She did that movie in the Outback ['Australia'], and they made up these compilation CDs while they were driving,” Radney told The Boot. The Oscar-winning actress, who had to ride in a car for eight hours to get to her film location, listened to several discs her husband gave her, and zeroed in on the Radney tune. “She said, ‘Hey that’s a really sexy song. You should do that song.’ I owe Nicole Kidman flowers!”

Keith’s brand-new album, ‘Get Closer,’ hit stores today, November 16. The Boot is riding along with him on a promotional tour from New York to Philadelphia.

- theboot.com