The ACM honored the late country legend Toby Keith tonight. They enlisted Jason Aldean to do the honors, capturing the fullness of his cowboy spirit by performing "Should've Been a Cowboy."
.@blakeshelton welcomes @Jason_Aldean to the stage for a tribute performance honoring the late Toby Keith ❤️? #ACMawards pic.twitter.com/ZhjQEaO7yq
— ACM Awards (@ACMawards) May 17, 2024
Fans are blown away by Aldean's rendition on the Keith classic. In the audience, the camera panned out to Keith's family, artists and fans alike, singing along with tears streaming down their faces.
This sentiment is abundantly clear by fans online as well. One user couldn't contain how the performance made them feel. "Watching @Jason_Aldean honor @tobykeith the way he did made my heart so happy. To see his family there made it all about that TK loved,"
Another user called it the best performance of the night, ready to anoint Aldean as an all timer in country. "@Jason_Aldean's @tobykeith tribute is my #1 performance on this year's #ACMawards. Maybe Jason is a true cowboy in the genre," he declared. "Let the waterworks flow."
Jason Aldean's Performance Comes After Divisive CMT Awards Tribute
Where Aldean succeeded at the ACM, The CMT Awards seemed to have failed. The network tried their best to honor Toby Keith but there were a number of fans that hated it. Brooks & Dunn took the brunt of the backlash, many disgusted with their take on "Should've Been a Cowboy." One person took a potshot, writing, "Ronnie Dunn should've spent less time dyeing his hair and more time actually learning some lyrics."
One person thought their tribute was so bad, another artist should take liberties with a Brooks and Dunn classic. "Brooks and Dunn did Toby Keith dirty with that rendition of Shoulda Been a Cowboy. Already plotting who can butcher Neon Moon on a future tribute to them," he scoffed.
It's a shame because the song clearly meant a lot to them. Dunn emphasizes its importance, saying ""'Should've Been a Cowboy' gave Keith a No. 1 out of the gate," Dunn said. "Among country acts, only Merle Haggard and Alan Jackson have written more of their own hits, and if Toby were here, he'd tell you that." He continues by expressing how Keith was more than whatever politics he trotted out in his records. "Many people tried to portray him as one-dimensional, and he wasn't. We know, we've been on the road with him," Dunn said. "Keith didn't write about politics so much as he wrote about communities."
