The late Toby Keith was well-remembered by his family, colleagues and fans at Sunday’s CMT Music Awards stemming from the Moody Center in Austin, Texas.
A number of segments on Sunday’s show were focused on Keith, with Brooks & Dunn, Lainey Wilson and Sammy Hagar among the performers to honor the late crooner, who died two months ago at the age of 62 following a battle with stomach cancer.
Keith’s 2011 track Red Solo Cup served as the creative inspiration behind part of the tribute, which saw the singer’s family – including Keith’s wife Tricia Lucus and their children Shelley, 43, Krystal, 38, and Stelen, 26.
Keith’s relatives, friends and attendees held up the cups in his memory in an emotional segment at the award show, which was broadcast on CBS and Paramount+.
The Should´ve Been a Cowboy singer-songwriter was surrounded by his relatives when he died February 6, a statement posted on the country singer’s website read.
The late Toby Keith was well-remembered by his family, colleagues and fans at Sunday’s CMT Music Awards stemming from the Moody Center in Austin, Texas, Pictured in 2004
Sammy Hagar, Kix Brooks, Lainey Wilson, Riley Green and Roger Clemens were among the performers to honor the late crooner, who died two months ago at the age of 62 following a battle with stomach cancer
Brooks & Dunn began the tributes with a cover of Keith’s 1993 hit Should’ve Been a Cowboy.
Hagar, 76, emerged onstage, telling stories about his adventures with his late friend in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico: ‘Toby and I, we spent a lot of time in Cabo together over the years.
‘I mean we closed the Cabo Wabo down a lot more times than we even remember – it’s hard to get thrown out of your own bar, and we managed to do that.’
The Van Halen alum then performed Keith’s 2003 track I Love This Bar.
Musician Lukas Nelson, 35, the son of musical icon Willie Nelson, told the crowd how Keith ‘was not a shy guy’ and ‘had a big personality.’
Nelson added that he met Keith when he was younger ‘when he was working on’ his 2008 film Beer For My Horses.
‘I got lucky I got the opportunity to watch his artistry in person,’ Nelson said.
Green, 35, recalled how innately talented Keith was at his craft.
‘That guy could come up with a hook like no other and sing the hell out of every song that he wrote, somehow only making it look easy,’ Green said.
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Keith’s family emotionally held up red Solo cups in tribute to the late singer
The family of the late musical standout was moved amid the memorial at the CMT Awards
Keith’s daughter Krystal Keith, wife Tricia Lucus and son Stelen Keith Covel posed during entrances on the red carpet
The family presented a united front just two months after Keith’s passing
A number of high-profile attendees, including Ashley McBryde, Ana Christina Cash and Gayle King, were pictured taking part in the cup tribute
A number of artists took the stage to pay tribute to the late country singer
He added, ‘Right now, we have one of our favorite artists to perform one of our favorite Toby songs,’ introducing country sensation Lainey Wilson, 31, who performed How Do You Like Me Now?!, a 1999 track from Keith.
Wilson said in a red carpet interview, according to Fox News, ‘I don’t know anybody in this business that doesn’t love Toby.’
‘He was truly the soundtrack to my childhood,’ Wilson said. ‘Seeing all of his stuff and all the visions that he had come to life, it made me feel like there’s nothing wrong with being fearless, there’s nothing wrong with going against the grain and standing up for what you believe in and being unapologetically yourself.’
The medley was introduced by former New York Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens, a friend of Keith’s who called the late artist ‘a friend, patriot and great American.
Clemens, who also pitched for the Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays and Houston Astros, said that Keith maintained his ‘sense of humor and his wit’ in the wake of his 2021 cancer diagnosis.
‘A perfect example of it, my two boys, who played baseball right here at the University of Texas, they were in Oklahoma playing the Sooners’ at the University of Oklahoma, which was ‘Toby’s university.’
Clemens said that Keith made his sons and offer, and made good on it – as best he could: ‘Toby told my boys, “If you get a home run off our Oklahoma pitcher today, I’ll sit on your dugout and I’ll sing the The Eyes of Texas with you.”
‘Well, guess what? It happened and, true to form, Toby sat on the dugout and with his funny and wit, sang, “I’ve been working on the railroad.” No chance was going to sing The Eyes of Texas.’
Brooks & Dunn began the tributes with a cover of Keith’s 1993 hit Should’ve Been a Cowboy
Hagar, 76, emerged onstage, telling stories about his adventures with his late friend in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
Hagar donned a shirt with his late friend’s name emblazoned across the chest
The Van Halen alum then performed Keith’s 2003 track I Love This Bar
Country sensation Lainey Wilson, 31, took part in the musical tribute to Keith
Wilson who performed How Do You Like Me Now?! – a 1999 track from Keith
The late musical performer’s image was emblazoned on dozens of screens in the background during Wilson’s segment
The medley was introduced by former New York Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens, a friend of Keith’s who called the late artist ‘a friend, patriot and great American’
Clemens clutched a red Solo cup in honor of his late friend while toasting Keith
Hagar clutched a baseball while posed alongside the seven-time Cy Young award winner
Clemens thanked Keith’s family ‘for sharing’ the As Good As I Once Was with the world.
‘Thank you for sharing your dad with all of us – thank you,’ Clemens said. ‘Trish, we love you. Thank you for sharing your husband with the world, Trish. Thank you.’
He wrapped up the emotional segment in saying, ‘Alright, real quick: Raise ’em up. Everybody at home, raise your fist if you don’t have a Solo cup. Let Toby hear you. Repeat after me, “Whiskey for my men,” and, “Beer for my horses” – let’s go!’
Social media users were moved by the emotional segment during Sunday’s broadcast.
‘The fact that everybody was raising red solo cups for the life of @tobykeith was incredibly appropriate, since Toby himself did have a crossover hit about the titular red solo cup,’ one user said.
Another fan said the moment was enhanced by the presence of Keith’s three children.
‘As a life long Toby Keith fan that tribute was absolutely beautiful,’ the user said. ‘Seeing his babies made it even more special. Thank you for sharing him with us Shelley, Krystal, and Stelen. We miss you Toby.’
Said one fan: “That Toby tribute … those red solo cups had me in shambles.’
The segments at Sunday’s show elicited a number of responses from fans on social media, who were emotionally moved by the musical tribute to the late singer
Fans, family and friends honored Keith on Sunday, two months after his passing. Pictured last September in Nashville
Keith had an especially accomplished history at the CMT Awards, as he won seven honors amid 30 nominations, performing at the event 13 occasions, according to People. He twice hosted the show, once in 2003 with Pamela Anderson, and nine years later in 2012 with Kristen Bell.
Elsewhere Sunday, rapper-turned-country star Jelly Roll erased any doubts about his new passion when he swept the 2024 CMT Music Awards with three majors wins, including the top honor, Video of the Year.
Jelly Roll beat a tough crowd consisting of Kacey Musgraves, Darius Rucker, host Kelsea Ballerini, Jason Aldean, Lainey Wilson, Mickey Guyton and Kane Brown and Tyler Childers, among many others.
Jelly Roll offered hope to incarcerated teens when he won Male Video of the Year, and he held back tears after his first win for CMT Performance of the Year.
The show, which was held in Austin, Texas, also featured a key win from Lainey Wilson for Female Video of the Year. She conquered an impressive list of nominees, including Ashley McBryde, Gabby Barrett, Kacey Musgraves, Kelsea Ballerini, Megan Moroney and Reba McEntire.
Trisha Yearwood was honored with the inaugural June Carter Cash Humanitarian Award
The show was hosted by Ballerini for the fourth time in a row. She went solo, after previously co-hosting with Kane Brown, though she announced that it would be her final time hosting at the end of the show.
Ashley Cooke and Warren Zeiders were honored with the Female and Male Breakthrough Video of the Year awards, while Carly Pearce with Chris Stapleton and Dan + Shay were also honored.
The rapper-turned-country star Jelly Roll erased any doubts about his new passion when he swept the 2024 CMT Music Awards with three majors wins, including the top honor, Video of the Year
The show, which was held in Austin, Texas, also featured a key win from Lainey Wilson for Female Video of the Year. She conquered an impressive list of nominees, including Ashley McBryde, Gabby Barrett, Kacey Musgraves, Kelsea Ballerini, Megan Moroney and Reba McEntire
The show aired live from Austin’s Moody Center and was hosted by Ballerini for the fourth time in a row
Brooks & Dunn, Lainey Wilson and Sammy Hagar led a tribute to the late Toby Keith, with Roger Clemens and Willie Nelson’s son Lukas Neilson doing the introductions
The show featured an all-star tribute to the late country star Toby Keith, with Roger Clemens and Willie Nelson‘s son Lukas Neilson doing the introductions and Brooks & Dunn, former Van Halen frontman Sammy Hagar and Lainey Wilson leading the performances in Toby’s hits Should’ve Been A Cowboy, I Love This Bar and How Do Ya Like Me Now?.
In her pre-announced with for the first-ever June Carter Cash Humanitarian Award, the singer and wife of Garth Brooks praised the award’s namesake. She was joined at the ceremony by John Carter Cash, the only child June shared with her third and final husband, Johnny Cash.
Billy Bob Thornton, Emma Roberts, Minnie Driver, James Van Der Beek and Jane Seymour offered a touch of Hollywood when they presented awards.
Nominees for this year’s awards show were announced last month.
Morgan Wallen, one of the genre’s top stars, received only one nomination — for Male Video of the Year for Last Night (One Record at a Time Sessions) — and he was shut out when Jelly Roll won.
