{"id":26566,"date":"2026-05-26T07:36:39","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T07:36:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/?p=26566"},"modified":"2026-05-26T07:36:39","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T07:36:39","slug":"when-chris-stapleton-lowered-his-head-shania-twain-looked-ready-to-cry-and-little-big-town-stood-there-singing-through-the-emotion-thats-when-the-entire-acm-arena-realized-this-was","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/?p=26566","title":{"rendered":"WHEN CHRIS STAPLETON LOWERED HIS HEAD, SHANIA TWAIN LOOKED READY TO CRY, AND LITTLE BIG TOWN STOOD THERE SINGING THROUGH THE EMOTION\u2026 THAT\u2019S WHEN THE ENTIRE ACM ARENA REALIZED THIS WASN\u2019T JUST A TRIBUTE ANYMORE.\u2019\u201d Blake Shelton\u2019s performance of \u201cThe Gambler\u201d became one of the most heartbreaking moments of the ACM Awards as country music quietly said goodbye to legendary songwriter Don Schlitz following his passing at 73.\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"<article id=\"post-60230\" class=\"post-60230 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-fadwdafa\">\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto lrv-a-font-body-m \">Blake Shelton led Las Vegas\u2019 MGM Grand Garden Arena in a singalong of an anthem rightly referred to by host Shania Twain as \u201cone of the greatest songs of all time\u201d on Sunday night (May 17) at the 2026 Academy of Country Music Awards: \u201cThe Gambler.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-3\"><\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/countrynow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1-20-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Blake Shelton Reveals Details on Special ACM Awards Performance of 'The  Gambler' [Exclusive] - Country Now\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"hC6ZI7Jz\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"eyeo\" data-type=\"_mgwidget\" data-widget-id=\"1757156\" data-uid=\"1812f\" data-src-id=\"${PUBLISHER_ID}\">\n<div id=\"mgw1757156_1812f\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto lrv-a-font-body-m \">Shelton, introduced by Twain as \u201cone of our very very best, and such a beautiful man,\u201d performed the timeless country classic as a tribute to its songwriter, Don Schlitz, who passed away in April at age 73. As the country great crooned the tried-and-true lyrics about knowing when to hold \u2019em and when to fold \u2019em, fellow genre luminaries like Chris Stapleton and Little Big Town and of course Twain could be seen in the crowd belting along.<\/p>\n<div class=\"N9Ebg2j6\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-4\"><\/div>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/video.php?height=476&amp;href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Freel%2F1412101360683286%2F&amp;show_text=false&amp;width=267&amp;t=0\" width=\"267\" height=\"476\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\" data-origwidth=\"267\" data-origheight=\"476\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto lrv-a-font-body-m \">In addition to writing \u201cThe Gambler,\u201d\u00a0Schlitz wrote\u00a0a total of 16 songs that topped\u00a0<em>Billboard<\/em>\u2018s\u00a0Hot Country Songs\u00a0listing, including such other all-timers as \u201cWhen You Say Nothing at All\u201d (for Keith Whitley) and \u201cForever and Ever, Amen\u201d (for Randy Travis). \u201cThe Gambler\u201d hit No. 1 on the chart in 1978 as recorded by crossover superstar Kenny Rogers, who also took the song to No. 16 on the\u00a0Billboard Hot 100. The song would remain a signature tune for Rogers until his death in 2020.<\/p>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-5\"><\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2026\/04\/17\/15\/Obit_-_Don_Schlitz_29425.jpg\" alt=\"Don Schlitz death: Legendary country music songwriter behind The Gambler,  dies aged 73 | The Independent\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto lrv-a-font-body-m \">Shelton is a six-time winner at the Academy of Country Music\u00a0Awards, having most recently taken home single of the year for his top 20 Hot 100 hit \u201cGod\u2019s Country\u201d in 2019. His other wins include male vocalist of the year in 2011, and song of the year for \u201cOver You\u201d in 2012, as performed (and co-written) by his then-wife Miranda Lambert.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/hellotinhay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/3-2.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p><ins class=\"982a9496\" data-key=\"63471129118a2e863045b265c058d3f7\"><\/ins>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-tags\"><\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Blake Shelton led Las Vegas\u2019 MGM Grand Garden Arena in a singalong of an anthem rightly referred to by host Shania Twain as \u201cone of the greatest&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26567,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26566","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26566","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=26566"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26566\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26568,"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26566\/revisions\/26568"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/26567"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=26566"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=26566"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=26566"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}