Robert Urban, father of Keith Urban, has died after battle with cancer

NASHVILLE, Dec. 7 (UPI) -- Keith Urban has confirmed that his father Robert Urban has died after his long battle with cancer.

"I've been deeply touched by the outpouring of love and support that Nic and I, and our family, have received since my Dad's passing on Saturday night," Keith said in a statement to Us Weekly. "His long battle with cancer is now over and he is finally at peace."

"My dad's love of country music and America set me on my life's journey, and shaped so much of who I am today," the country star continued mentioning how his father influenced his career "Thank you to everyone who has kept us all in your thoughts and prayers."

Urban told The Tennessean that his father was placed into hospice care during the opening of his new exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame on Dec. 2.

"He's probably only got a few weeks, if that," Keith said at the time about his father's health. "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."

News of Robert's death comes just over a year after wife Nicole Kidman's father, Anthony Kidman died at the age of 75 after enduring a fall while on vacation.