Blake Shelton Reveals Details on Special ACM Awards Performance of ‘The Gambler’ [Exclusive]

Whenever Blake Shelton takes the stage, fans know they’re in for a performance to remember. This Sunday, May 17, the country superstar is putting together something especially meaningful for the 61st ACM Awards as he prepares to deliver a rendition of “The Gambler.”

After rehearsals at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Shelton shared some exclusive details regarding his upcoming performance with Country Now. He explained that this moment in the star-studded show will honor both the man who made the song famous, the late Kenny Rogers, and the beloved songwriter behind the tune, Don Schlitz, who passed away on April 16, 2026, at age 73 in a Nashville hospital following a “sudden illness.”

Blake Shelton Is Honored To Celebrate Two Beloved Members of the Country Music Community

Since this year’s show will once again be streamed live exclusively on Prime Video and the Amazon Music Twitch channel, Shelton is looking forward to having plenty of time to properly celebrate these country music legends.

“I always love it when these award shows take time to honor someone that we’ve lost,” Shelton shared. “The good thing about this thing being on Amazon, like a streamer, is I don’t think there’s really these timing restraints. I think they can just do whatever. And so I was excited that I get to do the full version of ‘The Gambler’ because we lost Don [Schlitz] here, four weeks ago or something like that…It was sudden. It’s really sad. And we lost Kenny [Rogers] four or five years ago.”

Country music fan or not, “The Gambler” is a well-known song to just about everyone. The GRAMMY-award winning tune was released as a single on November 15, 1978 and served as the title track for Rogers’ album of the same name. It quickly gained momentum, claiming the top spot on the country charts and also earned a spot on the pop charts.

Shelton admits “The Gambler” has been a staple song in his life for as long as he can remember.

“That particular song is like two legends came together and made one of the most important pieces of music in country music history…I would say it’s in the top 10, at least it’s in my top 10 of all time.”

In Addition To The Performance, Blake Shelton Released A Cover Exclusively With Amazon Music

The Oklahoma native previously cut his own version of the song in 2006 when he had extra time in the studio with renowned producer, Bobby Braddock. Today, in honor of his ACM Awards performance, Shelton has released a cover exclusively on Amazon Music.  

“When this opportunity came up, I told my manager, I said, ‘Man, we cut that a lot of years ago And so Amazon’s doing this exclusive release with it. I think it’s out now and I’m excited. I’m honored to do it,” he admitted. “It’s one of those songs that I think I was born knowing the song already.”

He went on to recall the night Schlitz was honored by the Grand Ole Opry following his death, remembering Vince Gill talking about his friendship that developed with Schlitz over the years.

“He was talking about his relationship with Don and he was at breakfast with him one morning and asked him if he had ever performed at the Opry and Don had said ‘no.’ And so Vince obviously went to work on that and that’s a pretty cool story because then Don became such a regular out there.”

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How Blake Shelton Really Feels About Having A Residency In Las Vegas

The 2026 ACM Awards comes at the perfect time for Blake Shelton who is already in Las Vegas for Shelton’s Live in Las Vegas residency for the month of May. He joked that the star-studded award show came to him this year.

“That’s how important I am. It’s amazing,” said Shelton.

His residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace saw such an overwhelming response from fans that he was forced to add eight more shows in May. He is set to take the stage tonight as well as tomorrow, May 16 before making his highly-anticipated ACM Awards appearance. The residency will pick back up for the final shows on May 21 and 24.

Shelton proudly declared that he is having “more fun” on this Sin City run that he did on the other two because he feels more “settled” this time around.

“Vegas was a little bit intimidating at first because when you hear, ‘Okay, I’m going to do a residency in Las Vegas,’ I do shows all the time. Who cares? It’s going to be easy. And then you land here and you start driving down the strip and it’s like, ‘Come here tonight to see Shania. Oh, Garth is over here and oh, the Eagles.’ And you’re going, ‘Oh my gosh, wait a minute, maybe I’m not ready for this.’ Because you do kind of feel like, ‘Man, I don’t know that I’m to that level of what those guys do. I better step it up,’” he admits. “Now I get what people, at least what they expect and want from me at my shows.”

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Vegas Shows Allow Shelton To Connect With Fans More Than Other Performances

After serving as a coach on The Voice for 12 years, Shelton has picked up on the fact that people feel like they know him on a more personal level. This has helped him figure out how to cater his shows to make sure his fans leave feeling like they just had an unforgettable night.  

“That’s what I think they want from my shows is that interaction. And so I’ve gotten to the point where probably I interact more with fans in Las Vegas than I do on any of my other concerts because I feel like that’s what they come here wanting and they want to have that one-on-one experience. So I’m having a blast with it.”

Don’t miss Blake Shelton’s performance of “The Gambler” taking place this Sunday during the 61st Academy of Country Music Awards. Hosted by Shania Twain, the event will take place on Sunday, May 17, 2026, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The show will stream live exclusively on Prime Video beginning at 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT / 5 p.m. PT for viewers in more than 240 countries and territories.