Fans Left Emotional After Toby Keith's Poignant Speech and Performance

Carly Silva
·2 min read
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Toby Keith is leaving fans in tears with his appearance at the 2023 People's Choice Country Awards.

While being honored with the night's Country Icon Award on Thursday, Sept. 28, the 62-year-old singer took the stage to deliver a poignant acceptance speech followed by an extremely emotional performance.

Keith—who accepted the award from fellow country crooner Blake Shelton—began his address to the audience by joking, "Bet you never thought you'd see me in skinny jeans."

But the "I Love This Bar" artist then got a little more serious as he went on to say, "I would like to thank the Almighty for allowing me to be here tonight. He's been riding shotgun with me for a little while."

As we know, Keith has been dealing with serious health issues in recent years, after he was diagnosed with stomach cancer in 2021. He didn't publicly reveal the diagnosis until 2022, when he announced via social media that he had been receiving chemotherapy, radiation and surgery.

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"I want to thank my beautiful family that's here," Keith continued in his speech on Thursday. Before wrapping things up, he added, "And most of all, I want to thank the fans for still allowing us to do what we do."

Keith then had the crowd in the palm of his hand as he went on to sing his song "Don't Let the Old Man In."

The emotional performance had both viewers and attendees in tears, including Keiths' wife, Tricia Lucus, who was seen wiping away tears while her husband sang on stage.

"I cried," one fan wrote on Twitter after the performance.

"There's only one Toby Keith," added another.

"Toby Keith just sang on The People's Choice awards. It brought me to tears. He received the award," another chimed in. "@tobykeith Praying for your Recovery You sounded fantastic God be with you and your family."

A fourth put it best when they simply wrote, "Dang it Toby Keith, making me cry."

Next: Toby Keith Gives Cancer Battle Update During Red Carpet Appearance With Wife Tricia