Jason Aldean revealed the advice late-country star Toby Keith taught him about unapologetically speaking his mind when it comes to what he believes, even when it’s not “the popular opinion.”
Speaking to Fox News ahead of his appearance on the 2024 Academy of Country Music Awards on Thursday, the 47-year-old country singer had nothing but praise for Keith and said he was a “guy that a lot of us looked up to.”
“For me personally, he was a guy that I feel like … just always spoke his mind,” Aldean said. “He said what he thought, whether it was the popular opinion or not. And it wasn’t, you know, it didn’t always go well for him, and he didn’t care.”
“I mean, it was something that if he felt strongly about it and felt like it was something he believed in, he was going to speak his mind,” he added. “To me, from a personal level, that was something to me that was always inspiring, as far as like, ‘Hey, you can still be an artist and be true to who you are and go out and not be afraid to speak out.’ And I think that was something that always kind of stood with me.”
Aldean continued and said what he learned from the late singer was to “never apologize for being patriotic. Just being not afraid to speak your mind, stand up for what you believe in. Whether other people agree with it or not, be who you are and be unapologetic about it. And I think that’s pretty good advice.”
On Thursday, the “Try That In A Small Town” star will be performing a tribute to Keith at the annual ACM Awards, the outlet noted.
Keith died earlier this year following a lengthy battle with stomach cancer. He was 62. Following his death, the “Red Solo Cup” hitmaker was announced as one of the new inductees into the Country Hall of Fame. He died the day before he would’ve learned about his inclusion in the hall, as previously reported.
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After his death, the “Should’ve Been A Cowboy” hitmaker’s catalog of music filled the country charts, Billboard previously noted.
Following Keith’s diagnosis in 2021, he talked about his incredible country singing career.
“Just seeing how enormous the career I amassed over 30 years when they show the video,” he told People magazine at the time. “You know where you were when you wrote all those songs, you hear those numbers and you’re just like, you looked up one day and all of a sudden 30 years went by.”
Related: Toby Keith’s Daughter Said He Told Her, ‘Never Apologize For Being Patriotic’
