Since Toby Keith’s tragic passing in February, it seems as if everyone in the genre has paid tribute to the “American Soldier” singer. From Koe Wetzel to Jelly Roll to Brooks & Dunn during the CMT Awards, there have been some incredibly memorable performances paying respects to the late singer/songwriter.
However, one of the most moving tributes came from none other than Jason Aldean during the 59th ACM Awards back on May 16th. During the ceremony, which featured Lainey Wilson winning Entertainer of the Year and Luke Combs capturing Single of the Year for “Fast Car,” Aldean delivered a powerful acoustic performance of Keith’s signature hit, “Should’ve Been a Cowboy.”
Earlier today, Aldean made a quick appearance onThe Bobby Bones Show, discussing his sports memorabilia collection and more importantly, his “Should’ve Been a Cowboy” performance back in May. Bones asked him how difficult the performance was given that he was balancing not only putting on a great performance but also honoring one of the biggest legends in the genre. Aldean replied saying that he was more focused on delivering the performance itself:
“Yeah, I think it was a little bit more of that [pulling off a great performance]. I felt like Toby deserved a great tribute for the career he’s had. I knew it was going to be a big night for his family and people that were going to be there. To be honest, I just didn’t want to mess it up. I wanted to go out and give him a send off that he deserved.“
Aldean also reiterated that the he wanted the performance to be all about Keith and his legacy, not about him, “For us, it was trying to do something cool and different and something to honor him and the family. His wife texted me that night after the show which was really the icing on the cake for me. If you [she] approved, I’m cool. It was a really great night. I had a good time. To me, it was just trying to make sure we did it justice.”
As for how how he felt he did with the tribute, the “She’s Country” singer said, “When we finished, I came off… I think you know. I felt like we nailed it the way that I wanted to do it… I felt like what we were trying to do, I accomplished that and felt really good about the version that we did.”
Given that it was by far the most talked-about performance of the night, it’s safe to say that Aldean accomplished exactly what he wanted to.
Watch the full interview here: