'He's finally at peace': Keith Urban's father Robert dies after cancer battle 

Keith Urban's father Robert has passed away after battling cancer.

The 48-year-old singer revealed that his dad had died when he thanked his fans for all of their support through a statement released to Us Weekly.

'I’ve been deeply touched by the outpouring of love and support that [Nicole Kidman] and I, and our family, have received since my dad’s passing on Saturday night,' he said. 

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Sad: Keith Urban's father Robert Urban has passed away after losing battle with cancer

'His long battle with cancer is now over and he is finally at peace.'

Just last Tuesday Keith revealed to The Tennessean that his beloved father was dying after entering a hospice.

A teary-eye Keith said: 'He's probably only got a few weeks, if that. I've just been dealing with that the last couple of days. 

'This has all come at a very strange time where it's typical of a career that has extreme highs and extreme lows all often at the exact same time. 

'So [the exhibit] is bittersweet a little bit because [my dad] is the catalyst for all of this. My dad is the catalyst for me living in America.'

Keith did not say what his father was suffering from, or whether he was in a hospice in Australia or America at the time of his death.

Tragic: Robert is seen here at his son and actress Nicole Kidman's wedding in 2006. Pictured with wife Marienne

The exhibit in Nashville, Tennessee, called Keith Urban So Far..., features artifacts from the country music legend's career including the usual Instruments and memorabilia but it also has numerous reminders of how instrumental Keith's dad - who preferred the name Bob - was to his career. 

Also on show is a sentimental postcard from his childhood and stage outfits his father made for him.

The star said to The Tennessean: 'My dad particularly always thought it was important that I dressed like a performer.

Knew he was a star: When the 48-year-old (pictured 2010) was a child, Bob - as he likes to be called - fostered his son's talent and even made all his stage costumes 

'A lot of these country music talent quests I did in Australia, they often had categories for best dressed male or best dressed female and I often won. Sometimes it was the only thing I won.'

His father also passed on his love of country music - something not listened to as heavily in Australia.

His other savior: The singer also spoke about how his wife (pictured November) helped him beat his addiction demons

He particularly liked Don Williams and the star said he remembered when his father took him to the record store to buy the artist's album but did not know the hit single off it.

'I said, ''How do you know it's going to be good?'' He said, ''It's Don Williams.''

'It hit me in such a way that I thought, 'I want to make those kinds of records, that people know are going to be solid and they go out and get it.' 

'I want to thank Dad for starting me on this journey.'

In February, the star posted a picture of him with his father paying tribute to what he had done for him.

'Being a Dad gives me a WHOLE new love and appreciation for my Dad - and everything he’s done for me.'

Indeed it was his father, who owned a convenience store in Caboolture, Queensland, who catapulted his son into the music world after putting an advertisement for a guitar teacher in his shop window when his son was a child.

The young Keith is then said to have taken lessons from the instructor, Sue McCarthy, now a close family friend.

While now a huge success, the Someone Like You Star struggled to fit in when he first moved to Nashville and also struggled with addiction - something he credits the other major influence in his life, wife Nicole, for helping him overcome. 

Keith told The Tennessean that when he married the Australian actress in 2006 he had not 'taken care of my problems'.

After they married Nicole staged an intervention which led to him seeking treatment at the Betty Ford Clinic.

The singer said: 'My demons just came and kicked my ass and her ass and just blew our world up,' he said. 

'In so many ways, it was the most powerful act of love of reaching into the fire and pulling me out because she believed in me and she saw something in me in such a way that she risked everything to trust me and pulled me out of the fire.'

He said he now hopes he can have what his father Bob and mother Marienne had with Nicole.

'I'm blessed that my mom and dad stayed together their whole life and are still together at 50 years,' he said. 

'So I've seen that you can stay together and find a great love. I didn't know about it until I met my wife.' 

Meanwhile, Hollywood star Nicole lost her own father, doctor Antony Kidman, in September last year after he suffered a suspected heart attack in Singapore while visiting his daughter Antonia and her six children.