Keith Urban can cross another major item off of his bucket list. The 57-year-old just earned a spot on Australia’s Roll of Renown, a rare honor given “to celebrate artists who have made a lasting and significant impact on Australian country music” (per RNZ).

As a child, Urban saw Slim Dusty receive the same honor, in 1979. To be where his musical hero was, 46 years later, is almost more than Urban can put into words. Almost.

“It’s amazing,” Urban boasts to The New Daily. “I mean, it’s surreal to be on that rock … I think Slim was only the third or fourth guy to get a plaque on the rock, and there are over 50 people on that thing now. I remember when I was ten or 11, and I stood in this long line of people waiting to get Slim’s autograph. I’d just bought the sheet music to ‘Lights on the Hill,’ and worked my way up the line. I said, ‘Hello, I’m Keith, and he signed it for me’. Twelve years later, I got to record that song with him as a duet, and go on tour with him.”

When accepting the honor, the father of two reflected on those who had believed in him since the beginning of his career, including his own family.

“I wish I had longer to thank everybody, but I want to start by thanking my mother and brother who are here tonight, and my father, who passed away in 2015,” Urban says from stage. “He’s here somewhere. He’s here everywhere. I come from a family that taught me so much that still stays with me today.”

Urban goes on to recall his early days of performing, even as a child, thanking those who helped pave his way to the success he has now.

“Those early believers are what it’s all about. All of us artists know that it takes the early believers seeing something in you,” he adds.

Urban just released  “Straight Line.” The song is from his latest HIGH album. By Urban’s own admission, the title is an unlikely choice for someone who has been sober since 2006.

“I like the dark humor of the title in relation to my past,” Urban explains. “I know it’s jarring for some people to even think of the word ‘humor’ when it comes to addiction, but I like people doing whatever they want to do at my concerts. I’ve been sober for a long time. Just get in the zone and let’s have a great time.”

Urban will embark on his High and Alive World Tour begins on May 22, joined on tour by Chase Matthew, Alana Springsteen and Karley Scott Collins. The tour will mark the first for at least some of his band members, with Urban recently revealing he was building a new band, replacing some of his members, including longtime band member and musical director, Jerry Flowers.

“I’m in between a typical band structure right now, where I haven’t put together the band for the tour yet,” Urban says on Q with Tom Power. “I dismantled the band I had, and I’m rebuilding a new one, but I haven’t built it yet, and we had a club show that came before I had a chance to build my band. So we had a fill-in drummer last night, and my keyboard player played bass, kind of like The Doors. We didn’t have a bass player … but I had to keep reminding him to go for it, because we’d be playing a song, and I’d go, ‘Where’s the low end?’ and I realized the keyboard player has forgotten he has to play bass too.”

Find tour dates at KeithUrban.com.