Urban cancels awards show appearance

updated 7:05 p.m. ET Oct. 23, 2006

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Keith Urban, who checked himself into a rehabilitation treatment center last week for alcohol abuse, will not appear at the Country Music Association awards next month, his spokesman said Monday.

The 40th Annual CMA Awards will air Nov. 6 at 8 p.m. EST on ABC.

Urban is nominated in the two categories he won last year: entertainer of the year and best male vocalist. He’s also up for best single, “Better Life,” and song of the year, for co-writing “Tonight I Wanna Cry.”

The Grammy-winning country singer released a statement Friday that said he entered rehab Thursday night with his wife, actress Nicole Kidman, by his side. His publicist would not give the location of the rehab center.

Urban, who turns 39 on Thursday, has publicly acknowledged a previous addiction to cocaine.

“One can never let one’s guard down on recovery, and I’m afraid that I have,” the statement read.

Urban’s new CD, “Love, Pain, & the whole crazy thing,” will be released Nov. 7 as scheduled, but he will postpone all upcoming promotional appearances.

Kidman and Urban, who were both raised in Australia, married on June 25 in Sydney. They then moved to Nashville, where Urban records.

Urban won a Grammy this year for best male country vocalist for “You’ll Think of Me,” and was named top male vocalist for the second year in a row by the Academy of Country Music.

A Country Weekly magazine reader poll this year named him country music’s sexiest man.

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