She fell in love with his music when she was just four years old. She would listen to his CD with her dad while they drove around town running errands. They’d walk in the door from a long day and she’d be singing his songs.
Oh, how she sings his songs.
She fell in (4 year old) love with The Man the first time she saw him on TV.
“That’s Keith Urban?” She asked, with her eyes wide open.
“Yes. It is.” I responded. “Isn’t he handsome?”
She giggled. “I want to marry him!”
She would talk about him daily. She would draw pictures of him and for him. She would write letters to him.
“I want to be your girlfriend, Keith Urbin.” She’d scrawl across the blank white paper.
The day she found out he was married, she was devastated. “You’re lying!” She shouted. “He’s MY husband!”
Once she accepted this reality, she started writing letters to his wife, “Micole.” They were sweet and said things like “I like the way your husband sings.”
But she never stopped loving Micole’s husband. She never stopped singing his songs. She never stopped writing him letters and drawing him pictures.
One night while we were sitting on the sofa watching a Keith Urban special, she asked me to pause the TV. “Mom, if he has a show by our house, will you take me there to see him?”
“Of course I will, love.”
“And after the show, will you take me to meet him? I just want to meet him so bad.”
I explained that it probably wouldn’t be possible to meet him after the show, but you never know! Maybe?
“Oh, I hope I can’t meet him!” She said, with her hands folded as if she was saying a prayer.
*******
“Babe, doesn’t that look like Keith Urban?” My husband asked as we were sitting in the airport waiting to board a flight from Chicago to LAX.
“That IS Keith Urban!” I gasped.
Gabby was sitting next to me. “Gabby! That’s Keith Urban sitting over there.” I said, as I pointed. (Pointing is rude! I know! But I had to show her!)
She wants to meet Keith Urban and there he is sitting just a few feet away from her.
I wanted to go say hello to him, to introduce my daughter– his biggest, littlest fan- to him. I wanted to watch as she met the man of her dreams right there in the airport terminal.
But he was on the phone. And I didn’t want to be rude and interrupt his phone call. So, I sat and waited for the right time.
The right time never came. An American Airlines employee came over to him and walked him over so he could board the plane first. I was bummed for my daughter and quite possibly for myself because there’s nothing more beautiful as a parent than watching your child’s dreams come true.
“Mommy, where did Keith Urban go?” Gabby asked when she noticed his seat was empty.
I explained to her that he had already boarded the plane. I told her that maybe we could say hello to him when we got on the plane, if he wasn’t busy.
“No, Mommy!” She whined. “I was just kidding about loving him! I don’t love him and I don’t want to meet him!”
“You don’t have to talk to him if you don’t want to, but I think it would be so wonderful if you said hello to him. You’ve always said you wanted to meet him.”
She got very quiet as we stood in line.
“Mommy? My heart is beating so fast. Is yours beating fast too?”
I about died right there. HER HEART WAS BEATING FAST.
”
Sweetie, it’s okay to be nervous and it’s okay if you don’t want to say hello. I don’t want you to be nervous.”
“I do want to say hi to him, Mommy. I’m just so nervous.”
When we stepped onto the plane, I noticed Keith was sitting in the first row. He wasn’t on the phone, so I politely made my move.
“Hello, I am sorry to bother you, but my daughter adores you and she would love to say hi to you.”
He smiled at her and said “Hi, what’s your name?”
“Gabby.” She answered.
“She just loves your music.” I said.
“Oh yeah? What’s your favorite song, Gabby?” He asked.
She was silent and I’m pretty sure it was because her little heart was pounding so hard.
“I Wanna Kiss a Girl.” I said.
“I wanna kiss a girl…” He sang.
She smiled.
I thanked him and we walked to our seats.
Shortly after takeoff, Gabby asked if she could write Keith a note. “I just want to tell him thank you for saying hi to me.” I told her she could write the note, but that I didn’t think we would be able to give it to him. However, I had a fabulous conversation with the flight attendant while waiting to use the restroom. I told her all about Gabby’s encounter with Keith and how much she loved him. I mentioned the note she wanted to write for him.
“Have her write that note and I’ll take her up front to give it to him.”
I practically ran back to my seat to give Gabby the good news.
She wrote her note (I helped make sure she spelled all of the words correctly, but they were definitely her words.)
Dear Keith Urban,
Thank you for letting me listen to your songs. I like you.
Love,
Gabby
The flight attendant walked over, took Gabby by the hand and said “let’s go give that to Keith Urban!”
I sat in my seat and watched as my daughter made her way to the front of the plane. I watched as Keith leaned over and accepted the note she had written. I watched as she smiled and spoke to him. My heart felt like it was going to burst open. IT WAS THE SWEETEST MOMENT. You just have to believe me. It truly was.
When the flight attendant returned my daughter to me, I asked her to replay what had just happened. She told me what Keith had said to Gabby and what Gabby had said to Keith. The absolute funniest moment was when Keith asked her if she wanted his autograph.
“No thank you.” She answered sweetly.
We both agreed she had no idea what an “autograph” was. So, the flight attendant took the notebook to Keith so he could sign it.
This is what she brought back.
When we read it together, my daughter smiled. Then started to giggle. That giggle turned into laughter.
“OH MY GOSH!” She said while putting her hands over his face. “Why did he call me HIS GIRLFRIEND? He must really love me or something!”
I cried. I did. Because it was the most precious thing to witness.
She stared at that paper for the entire flight. Sometimes giggling. Sometimes asking me questions about it. Sometimes doubting that he was being sincere.
“I think he was just faking it. I don’t think he really wants me to be his girlfriend.”
My husband and I can’t stop talking about how great Keith Urban was to Gabby. It was a late night flight, he had just done a show. It would have been understandable if he didn’t want to be bothered. But he was gracious to our daughter. He was genuinely kind. A true class act, that man.
I’m buying a frame for that note tomorrow and hanging it on her wall. I never want her to forget the day Keith Urban sang to her and called her his girlfriend.
(Happy, but SO VERY TIRED. Traveling is hard, y’all.)
I’m CRYING after reading this! I think I love Keith Urban now, too. What an amazing thing for him to do, and what an amazing thing for Gabby to experience.
I teared up just reading that! What a nice guy.
That is just the sweetest story ever. I’ve always loved Keith Urban (admittedly, I didn’t take his marriage to Micole as well as Gabby) but I now I admire him even more, if that was even possible. What a classy guy and what a great experience for Gabby.
oh my goodness. That had me all choked up! And admittedly I am awash with pregnancy hormones but I think this would make even the hardest heart sing out loud!
Way to go Keith Urban, you have a new fan in me! And way to go Gabby, it is intimidating to meet someone you really admire!
What a wonderful story! What a great memory for her! What a beautiful little girl! What a classy man.
That just made MY WHOLE DAY. I think I said, “AWWWWW” at least 40 times. 🙂
What a sweet story, sweet little girl and an extra sweet man. “Micole” got herself a winner in that one.
That is the cutest story ever… and it just kept getting cuter as it went on. G is a lucky girl to have such a nice boyfriend. 🙂
I barely know who Keith Urban is, but this story makes me wish I was his girlfriend too.
So yes, I’m in withdrawal and everything makes me cry but this made me cry REAL CRY. The ugly kind. I am so happy for Gabby and you’re a great mom for teaching her to be respectful but still scoring a dream come true!! I have nothing against Nicole, (well, not a whole lot), but Gabby would be so much better for him!!! Wonderful post, Y!!!
This story just made my week! Thank you for sharing it! I’m so glad that Gabby got to meet him and I’m even happier that he was so nice to her. This story is further proof that there are good people in the world!
That is just amazing.
I think I’d kind of like to be Keith Urban’s girlfriend too. What a sweetheart! 🙂
G is such a sweet and polite little girl too, kudos to you as her momma! x
I LOVE Keith Urban, too. He has always seemed like such a genuinely nice guy, and he is an amazing performer. This is the best story!! Totally made my day!! Now I love Keith even more. 🙂
absolutely LOVE this story. seriously keith is so great and love how sweet he was to gabby. ah. amazing.
Such a sweet story – I’m so happy for Gabby- a memory she’ll never forget.
I’m so not a country music kind of girl, and I wouldn’t be able to name a Keith Urban song if you had a gun to my head, but that is pretty awesome. What a nice guy.
You probably just need to go ahead and email this to Keith Urban so that he can give proper credit where due when he writes that song for his girlfriend Gabby!
*sniffle* Now I have to explain to co-workers why I’m BLUBBERING at my desk. That is so awesome.
Oh my! That is the sweetest story. What an amazing guy to be so sweet to your daughter.
Oh my goodness, what a wonderful story! She is going to love hearing that story again and again when she grows up 🙂
I’ve heard from some people I know who have worked with local venue crews that Keith Urban is not only polite, but a very considerate man. This story solidifies it for me! Your daughter is a lucky little girl, and I shed a couple tears at the sweetness of this whole story.
I am a Keith Urban fan, and this just makes it even more of a reason to like him!
Wow, what a lucky girl, not only to meet her boyfriend, Keith, but also for picking such a great guy. *g*, now if you’ll excuse me I’ve got something in my eye.
Oh how sweet! I love Keith Urban even more after reading how nice he was. My daughter gets like that about Nick Jonas…lol
Ok so I too, cried while reading this. How sweet!!! Keith (who was pretty far up on my list anyway) just went up quite a few notches. BTW the picture she drew of him, well it LOOKS JUST LIKE HIM!!! lol I am so glad he made her day and that she wasnt to nervous to talk to him. She will never forget that day!!!
What a cute story!! I’ve always thought Keith Urban was a class act, but this just confirms it.
And that second video? “A trombone’s behind me”? Hil-arious!
Well Gabby sure has good taste. What a wonderful story. It’s refreshing to hear of a star who takes the time to talk to a fan, and a child at that!
I don’t even like country music, but that story was so sweet I think I’ll head over to iTunes and check out some Keith Urban songs! I am very impressed with how kind he was, and very happy for your daughter!
Belle,
Do it! His music is actually really good. He knows how to rock. For reals.
Wow, that is completely adorable… both Gabby’s adoration and how sweet Keith was to her! She is also pretty musical too, it seems! Kid’s got rhythm!
OMG – I am tearing up reading that – what an AWESOME STORY!!!!!!!!!!!! Now I need to go listen to Keith Urban too! Terrific. LOVE THAT. Thanks for sharing!
seriously so sweet! she is a lucky lady!
That is so precious, but I must object. How is Gabby this old? I started reading your blog when you were pregnant with her. And now she’s old enough for celeb crushes?
I think I need to lie down…
OH my gosh!!! That’s so great. I love that there are still celebrities who take time for their fans, including the littlest ones.
I just LOVE when I find out that celebrities I like are actually nice people!! How exciting for her 🙂
Props to the flight attendant, too, for being willing to make a little in-flight magic. Not all of them would have been so accommodating.
Great Point! She really was wonderful, actually, there were two of them. Thanks for pointing that out.
Tearing up a little at your sweet story like a big ole dork, but what a great thing to happen! She may not actually remember it down the road but she will always have that autograph and your words here to remind her. Such an amazing little girl you have!
I also love Keith, but I am so happy that he has his family Nic and Sunday as that is who he was flying to meet in LA the next day. That is the sweetest story. He is very kind as he was to me also. I have an individual picture with him as he said “sure” when I asked him if it was OK. He is a true class act and deserves every award he gets.
That was an amazing post! There is nothing better than seeing your vhild’s dreams come true no matter how big or small. Thanks for the smiles:)
SWEETEST.STORY.EVER. I’m thrilled for you and Gabby both!!
First time reader, first time commenter.
I didn’t get to see all the pictures or what the note said b/c I am at work and most everything is blocked but I still got chills from the story. Maybe when I get home and see them I will mist up a little.
I *heart* Keith Urban!
I got all teary reading that. I’m so happy for her!
OMG! She is absolutely precious singing those songs! What a priceless story! Love it!
Awww! You made me cry! What a great memory and Keith Urban rocks!!
That’s about the cutest thing I’ve ever seen and I don’t care even a little bit for Keith Urban’s music.
Gabby is the cutest.
I’m crying and laughing at the same time! How wonderful for Gabby to have that chance, and how fantastic that Keith Urban turned out to be such a sweet guy. Then again, how could anyone possibly resist Gabby? 🙂
I’m also thinking, let this be a reminder to me that sometimes the smallest kind gestures or words–ones that only take a small effort on my part–can turn out to mean the world to someone. Thanks for the great story!
So sweet! Oh to be a four year old in love!
Aw! Adorable! Major points for Urban for not being a douche 😉
That brought tears to my eyes! What a wonderful story!
That is the sweetest thing ever. I love it when a celeb is that nice. Such a great memory for Gabby. 🙂
That’s seriously one of the best star encounter stories ever. Yay for Gabby–and yay that she gets to keep her fantasies intact, too. (And good on you, Keith Urban. Seriously.)
OMG, yay Gabby! That’s awesome!! Sweetest story ever.
What a lucky girl! Thank you for posting this, I just love it!!! 🙂
Wow. Keith is amazing. This post is great and not surprising at all!!
Y, what an AMAZING story! You are a fabulous storyteller, your daughter is awesome and Keith Urban is a class act. Awesome
I am SO glad you posted this story. It made me laugh and tear up. Yay for Gabby!!
THE coolest story ever. She’s darling!
Awww that is the sweetest story ever. Keith is such a sweetheart. Gotta love him. im so happy ur daughter got to meet Keith. thanks for sharing. she’s adorable!
That is so cool! My entire family loves Keith, including my 4 year old daughter! She has been to 3 Keith concerts and has an Urban Princess shirt! She gave him flowers at one show and got a hug from him. I am jealous of my own daughter and Gabby.
I just read this and I AM CRYING. I now love Keith Urban too for being so sweet to your little girl. LOVE.
dude. that is seriously the greatest story ever told (and you are a fabulous storyteller) and i cried. and i love how she reacted to his note. and that she didn’t know what an autograph was. so innocent and sweet.
came here via lindsay ferrier. i think you might be my new favorite blog.
That is the sweetest story!!!
What a sweet story! I, too, have run into KU in the airport and he is a super nice guy. My neighbor used to run into Keith and Nicole at a local coffee shop here often and found they were both very sweet people. Most of the country stars here are surprisingly sweet….especially to their biggest fans! 🙂
What a lovely story, Keith Urban is a sweet, sweet man. He was so very kind to me when I met him! I am not one bit surprised he was so sweet to Gabby, he really cares about people and is a true Gentleman. Beautiful memory for sweet Gabby. Oh, I love Keith Urban as well, and I am a lot older than four!!
Such a great story, I’m all teared up and so excited for you and our adorable daughter. Thanks for sharing. I am a big Keith fan…he is a brilliant musician and performer, but this just shows what a classy, gracious, humble person he is.
What a great story!!
I am so happy for you AND your daughter! This was a day both of you will always remember, and it will always give you the warm fuzzies when you look back on it. I hope every boy Gabby falls in love with is a gentleman who looks after her heart, but I know that if her heart is ever broken you will be right there to hold her and help put the pieces back together. She is blessed to have you for her mommy!
He’s TOTALLY that great! I met him in 2005 – and loved him instantly. There was a young girl in the meet and greet that I was in. He was on bended knee with her. He made sure to have contact with every single one of us. I told him that my husband said it was ok if I married him – turned out to be my “I carried a watermelon” moment, but whatev. You simply MUST take her to his concert. You must! Oh, and my 8 year old son loves him too. One of his favorite songs is called ‘If ever I could love’, but Nathan SWEARS it’s really “Raccoon love”. 😉
That is so incredibly awesome. A memory for a lifetime.
Oh my, this is the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard (read?). I’m from the south, so DUH, I love country music. But now Kieth Urban is number one!!
Okay, i must say … i am a HUGE Keith fan. like huge! and i just want to say, this is a daily thing for him. he is always like that. no matter what it is he has going on that day, no matter where he is going or what he is doing, he is always that nice to his fans. he really truly appreciates them. i have had the honor of meeting him several times, and he never disappoints. he really is an amazing man, and this just proves it even more!
Your story is amazing, and that is so awesome that Gabby got to meet him, it brought me to tears as well!!
OMG, that gave me goosebumps! How sweet!
OMG, my heart is beating fast FOR her.
What a great story, and what a truly gracious man.
I heart Keith Urban
Yep, crying, what an amazing story! I’ve always been a Keith Urban fan, but even moreso now! I’m so glad Gabby had such a great experience with her first celebrity crush!
Awesome. Crying. So. Awesome. I love him too, wonder if he needs another girlfriend *wink wink*
I have always liked Keith Urban. Now I adore Keith Urban. How precious is he to do that for your baby girl. I could feel the pride you must have felt during that flight.
I wounder if it made him miss his baby girl. I bet it made him feel good to do that for Gabby.
This made my day! Thank you!!!
That was so sweet! I am so jealous of you, Y, for being so brave yourself. I must admit that if it had been me with my daughter I would have been to chicken to do anything but stare like an idiot. Good for you! And especially good for Gabby. I hope she always remembers this.
Well I’m glad to realize after reading through your comments that I wasn’t the ONLY one that cried when I read this. What a sweet moment. So happy for Gabby. She will remember that forever and for always. Love it!
Wow, what a touching story *tears*!! What a beautiful story about her love for Keith and a dream come true. What an absolutely astounding flight attendant, and an even more amazing, always genuine, full of heart Keith Urban…as usual!! I love that he took the time out to do that, and i do hope you keep her dream alive by framing that!! Congrats Gabby!!!
What a sweet story. I hope you don’t mind, but I posted a link to your page on my facebook for everyone to read this sweet story 🙂 I have always liked Keith Urban, and now even more!!!
Oh, that is absolutely adorable. What a great memory for her (and you!) to have!
I don’t love country music OR teary stories but this made me cry.
I’m not a fan of country music, but I think Keith Urban just became my new favourite performing artist. If all celebrities could be this gracious!
This is the sweetest story ever! I am not a fan of country music, but Keith Urban is certainly a class act. I have so much respect for artists/performers who never forget that without their fans they would be no one. So nice of him to make your little girl feel special 🙂
This is the reason I joined Keith’s fan club after I heard him play the first time in 2005. He is an amazing and generous person not to mention a wonderful entertainer. Thanks so much for posting. God Bless.
OMG!! i giggled reading this story too!!
it’s just a great story… and she was so lucky to fall in love wit such a great person
so happy for Ms. G. If anyone deserves to be Keith Urban’s girlfriend it’s her. I’m just Micole won’t mind.
Oh, thats so precious! I’m glad he treated her well. Thats so brilliant 🙂
Wow! That is such a sweet story and I’ve got tears plopping in my cheerios as I read it. Fabulous that he was so great to Gabby!
AWESOME! What a great experience. I’m sure he was totally charmed by Gabby. D couldn’t stop talking about how adorable she was. 🙂
Well, I’m glad I’m not the only one who started crying. I started to feel like an idiot, but I guess I’m not alone (not calling anyone an idiot).
This was a really sweet story!!
I got to meet Keith for a brief moment in 2007 and he seemed really nice. But my heart was beating so hard, I couldn’t even say a word. Thank goodness there were a couple of other people, who did the talking…
I hope you guys will ALWAYS remember this day!!
I think this is the best thing I’ve read in ages and I do believe I’ve got something in my eye. Sniff.
This made me bawl!!! How so very sweet! OMG. THank you for sharing this.
This story made me cry!
Wow! Keith is truly amazing and really loves his fans!
I’m so happy you and Gabby had the chance to meet Keith! I know how it feels when you’re about to meet him, Overwhelming!
I still can’t get over how sweet this story is! and still crying! :’)
Thanks for posting this. It totally just made my day 🙂
Oh my gosh, I’m crying too. What an amazing story. Little did he know that this story would end up on one of the best blogs in the entire universe.
Congrats to you and Gabby and your new son-in-law.
That is so stinking sweet!
Every once in a while, those that have been following this wonderful man for a long time get caught up in all the tabloid crap….deep down we all know the “real” Keith Urban is still THERE….This is a sweet, sweet story….you’re daughter is blessed to have had her “encounter” with Keith….:)
That is AWESOME!!!
Sending this link to one of my co-workers. She is a huge, huge Keith Urban fan.
What an awesome, genuine guy!!!
That is so so cute 🙂
What a kind man Keith Urban must be.
Beautiful Story! Congrats to Gabby, I’m so thrilled for her, she’s such a cutie. Much love to Keith Urban for taking the time to make Gabby’s dreams come true!
So there’s my cry for the day! That is the sweetest story! I’m sure it was amazing to see your daughter’s dream come true. What a wonderful man Keith is, always kind and gracious. He knows what it’s all about!
Sweetest thing EVER!
Love this story. I feel, proud(?) of everyone in this story. Of you for making your daughter’s dream come true, of the flight attendant for doing the right thing, of Keith for being awesome. Love. This. Story.
Visiting from Hidden Mahala – Your daughter is so beautiful and watching her sing – I believe she really does love Keith Urban! You hafta respect an entertainer who appreciates and is sweet to his fans, especially the little ones. Too bad you don’t have a way to show him those videos, bet he’d love them!
I think I just cried a little too. That is precious and it makes me want to buy his CD… and hug your little girl. Thanks for sharing this sweet story.
I’m crying too!!! Love love love this. How awesome for her.
Yeah, I totally cried too. What an amazing experience, and such a great story for Gabby to have!
Too freakin’ cool! What an amazing experience for her (and you!).
Yayyyy for Gabby!!
Like most people who’ve commented, I too am a huge fan of Keith’s. I will always love and appreciate his music but it is so breathtakingly wonderful to know that he is THAT kind of person too.
Congratulations to you too Mom for getting to see your daughter’s wish come true!!
This put a tear in my eye! Happy tear, of course. I’m a huge Keith Urban fan. His music is great, and he is probably the best live performer on the planet. If he comes to your area, you should definitely check out the show. I wasn’t a fan at all, and knew absolutely none of his songs when he was touring with Taylor Swift last year. When they came to my town, I wanted to see her with plans of leaving after her part of the concert. But as soon as he came out I noticed he was pretty cute 😉 Then, I noticed he was the best guitar player ever. And then I got home and did some research and countless stories similar to this one. I’ve never heard a negative word about the man from someone who’s actually met him. Like someone said earlier, this is no unusual thing. He’s like this to all his fans. Humble, gracious, kind, talented, funny, gorgeous. He’s perfect. I’m so happy for you and your daughter. Keith Urban can be my boyfriend any day. 🙂
I am so happy for Gabby what a day for her. Just one more reason among many to love this man for being such a genuine person and artist to his fans. Hugs.
So I bawled like a baby the first time I read this, but I was at work and didnt watch the videos. I just remembered to watch them and laughed my butt off!!
The second one is THE BEST EVER!
Trombone behind me.. and who would want to be me!! LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!
I dont know how you dont just absolutely crack up while she’s singing that..
She has so much passion..
I just love her..
and you! 🙂 xoxo
Wow, how awesome. Reading that made me cry a little, seriously! There is nothing like watching your kid’s dreams come true. It is the absolute best.
Awww! Brought a tear to my eye as I read this and imagined her being filled with joy at meeting him. What an incredibly sweet encounter. Really precious. It makes me smile.
That is soooooooooo sweet! I know she will cherish that forever!