{"id":2875,"date":"2025-05-09T08:35:50","date_gmt":"2025-05-09T08:35:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/?p=2875"},"modified":"2025-05-09T08:35:50","modified_gmt":"2025-05-09T08:35:50","slug":"throwback-to-a-night-that-now-feels-like-lightning-in-a-bottle-when-blake-shelton-and-toby-keith-lit-up-the-2018-acm-awards-with-shouldve-been-a-cowboy-the-crowd-wa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/?p=2875","title":{"rendered":"Throwback to a night that now feels like lightning in a bottle\u2014when Blake Shelton and Toby Keith lit up the 2018 ACM Awards with \u201cShould\u2019ve Been a Cowboy.\u201d The crowd was on its feet, voices echoing across the room as artists in the audience sang along, caught in the magic of the moment. Looking back, it\u2019s clear this wasn\u2019t just a performance\u2014it was a tribute in the making. No one, not even Blake, knew it would be the last time he\u2019d share that stage, that song, that energy with Toby. Now, that memory hits like a freight train\u2014loud, unforgettable, and full of heart."},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"attachment-single-post-featured perfmatters-lazy entered pmloaded\" title=\"Throwback To When Blake Shelton &amp; Toby Keith Sang \u201cShould\u2019ve Been A Cowboy\u201d At The ACM Awards | Classic Country Music | Legendary Stories and Songs Videos\" src=\"https:\/\/classiccountrymusic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/blake-toby-acm-throwback-735x413.png\" alt=\"Throwback To When Blake Shelton &amp; Toby Keith Sang \u201cShould\u2019ve Been A Cowboy\u201d At The ACM Awards | Classic Country Music | Legendary Stories and Songs Videos\" width=\"735\" height=\"413\" data-src=\"https:\/\/classiccountrymusic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/blake-toby-acm-throwback-735x413.png\" data-ll-status=\"loaded\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Blake Shelton joined Toby Keith to sing \u201cShould\u2019ve Been a Cowboy\u201d at the 2018 ACM Awards. (Photo Credit: Jeff Kravitz \/ ACMA2018 \/ FilmMagic for ACM)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"responsive-images responsive-videos\">\n<h2>Blake Shelton &amp; Toby Keith Throw Things Back With ACM Awards Duet<\/h2>\n<p>Blake Shelton\u00a0and\u00a0Toby Keith\u00a0showcased their years-long friendship during an unforgettable duet at the\u00a0<em>ACM Awards<\/em>\u00a0in 2018.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The 2018 ceremony marked Shelton\u2019s first performance at the\u00a0<em>ACM Awards<\/em>\u00a0in several years.<\/strong>\u00a0After announcing his involvement, fans started wondering which song he\u2019d perform.<\/p>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-4\"><\/div>\n<p>The obvious choice seemed to be his then-current single \u201cI Lived It.\u201d Of course, it also made sense for him to perform \u201cI\u2019ll Name the Dogs,\u201d which was nominated for an award.<\/p>\n<div class=\"oembed\">\n<div class=\"perfmatters-lazy-youtube\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/i_nLsG_asQg\" data-id=\"i_nLsG_asQg\" data-query=\"feature=oembed\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Blake Shelton - I Lived It (Official Music Video)\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/i_nLsG_asQg\" width=\"350\" height=\"235\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<div data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/i_nLsG_asQg\" data-id=\"i_nLsG_asQg\" data-query=\"feature=oembed\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>However, although Shelton sang \u201cI Lived It,\u201d he also had another song on his plate. It would have been near impossible for anyone to guess what Shelton was going to sing, or who he\u2019d sing it with.<\/p>\n<p>Before the ceremony, the ACM revealed its plans to have special \u201cACM Throwback\u201d performances. As stated in a press release issued at the time, these performances paired current stars with country icons to celebrate the 25th anniversary of songs released in 1993.<\/p>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-5\"><\/div>\n<p>Fans were thrilled to see Shelton\u2019s name in the lineup of artists participating in the throwback performances. It was even more thrilling to see that he\u2019d be joining Toby Keith to sing his breakout hit,\u00a0\u201cShould\u2019ve Been a Cowboy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Keith was celebrating the song himself that year.<\/strong>\u00a0To mark 25 years since its release, he named his 2018 tour\u00a0<em>The Should\u2019ve Been A Cowboy Tour XXV<\/em>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-6\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"oembed\">\n<div class=\"perfmatters-lazy-youtube\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/aIq1LvzSLsk\" data-id=\"aIq1LvzSLsk\" data-query=\"feature=oembed\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Toby Keith - Should've Been A Cowboy (Official Music Video)\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/aIq1LvzSLsk\" width=\"350\" height=\"235\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<div data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/aIq1LvzSLsk\" data-id=\"aIq1LvzSLsk\" data-query=\"feature=oembed\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h3>Now, This Performance Serves As A Way To Remember Toby<\/h3>\n<p>Shelton and Keith had the entire crowd on their feet during their performance at the 2018\u00a0<em>ACM Awards.\u00a0<\/em>Many of the other artists could be seen singing along in the audience.<\/p>\n<p>Based on the spectators\u2019 responses, it seemed clear that Shelton and Keith\u2019s collaboration was one of the best things that night! Even now, years later, you can\u2019t deny how epic that moment was.\u00a0<strong>Watch it in the video below.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"ACM Rewind \u23ea Remembering Toby Keith\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/aOZUThSK-1A\" width=\"350\" height=\"235\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>Sadly, this performance now serves as a way to remember Toby Keith<\/strong>. He\u00a0passed away\u00a0at the age of 62 on February 5, 2024, following a years-long battle with\u00a0stomach cancer.<\/p>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-2\"><\/div>\n<p>After Keith died, his longtime buddy, Blake Shelton, paid tribute to him on social media.<a class=\"broken_link\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/blakeshelton\/status\/1754928142517678165\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u00a0He wrote:<\/a><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>\u201cEven though I knew about your battle these last few months I still never imagined this day. Anyone who knew you knows what I mean. You were the toughest man I ever met. Thank you brother for being a friend, a hero and an inspiration. There will never be another Toby Keith.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>In October 2024, Shelton honored Keith\u00a0by singing \u201cI Love This Bar\u201d\u00a0when Keith was posthumously inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. He\u2019s ensuring his friend\u2019s legacy will live on forever\u2026<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Blake Shelton joined Toby Keith to sing \u201cShould\u2019ve Been a Cowboy\u201d at the 2018 ACM Awards. (Photo Credit: Jeff Kravitz \/ ACMA2018 \/ FilmMagic for ACM) Blake&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2876,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2875","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\/2875","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=2875"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2875\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2878,"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2875\/revisions\/2878"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2876"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2875"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2875"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2875"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}