Toby Keith To Receive Country Icon Award, Presented By Blake Shelton, At Inaugural People’s Choice Country Awards
The event will take place at the Grand Ole Opry on Sept. 28.

Toby Keith; Photo by Rick Diamond_Getty Images , Blake Shelton; Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images
Toby Keith is set to be honored with the Country Icon Award at the inaugural People’s Choice Country Awards, which will take place at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville on Thursday, September 28.
NBC and Peacock revealed the news on Tuesday afternoon (July 18) via a press release.
“We’re overjoyed to honor legendary artist Toby Keith with the first-ever Country Icon Award,” said Cassandra Tryon, Senior Vice President, Entertainment Live Events, NBCUniversal Television and Streaming. “As a talented songwriter and powerhouse performer, Keith has touched the hearts of fans across the globe. His illustrious career and passion for philanthropy has cemented his place as an icon in country music history.”
The award will be presented to Toby Keith at the event by fellow Oklahoman and country superstar, Blake Shelton.
According to the press release, the award honors Keith for “his decades-long career as a groundbreaking musician, humanitarian and entrepreneur.” The award will also recognize Keith’s 30-year career as a musician, philanthropist and entrepreneur.
The same press release dubbed Toby Keith “a pioneer in country music and one of the most influential artists of all time.”
Little Big Town To Host
Hosted by award-winning group, Little Big Town, the People’s Choice Country Awards will air live on Sept. 28 at 8 p.m. ET/PT across NBC and Peacock. The two-hour broadcast will be produced by Den of Thieves with Jesse Ignjatovic, Evan Prager and Barb Bialkowski serving as executive producers, along with RAC Clark as executive producer and showrunner.
The awards show will lean into the rich connection between country music and the Opry through chart-topping musical performances, genre-bending collaborations, legendary tributes and surprise moments that regularly happen from the iconic venue.
The only award show for the people and by the people, the “People’s Choice Country Awards” will recognize the biggest and best country music has to offer chosen entirely by the fans across various categories. Several honorary awards will also be bestowed during the awards ceremony. The show will extend to social platforms with Backstage Live, bringing fans at home behind the scenes as well as interactively connecting country music’s most popular stars with their biggest fans.
Additional information about tickets for the event will be made available soon.
Three Decades In Country Music
With 32 No.1 singles and 40 million albums sold, Toby Keith is regarded as one of country music’s biggest hitmakers. He wrote a chart-topping hit every year for 20 consecutive years, including “How Do You Like Me Now?!,” “Courtesy of the Red, White, & Blue (The Angry American),” “I Love This Bar,” “Beer For My Horses,” and “As Good As I Once Was.”
He is a recipient of the National Medal of Arts, was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame (having already been inducted into the all-genre Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2015), and was honored with the Academy of Country Music’s prestigious Merle Haggard Spirit Award.

Throughout his career, the Oklahoma native received the BMI Icon Award as well as the BMI Country Songwriter of the Year award three times, and his hit single “As Good As I Once Was” was awarded BMI’s Country Song of the Year in 2006.
His music has garnered more than 10 billion streams and 100 million terrestrial radio spins to date.
Keith’s most rewarding experiences, however, have come from giving back locally, nationally, and abroad. His annual golf classics fund the Toby Keith Foundation and OK Kids Korral, a cost-free home for families of children dealing with critical illnesses, and his 11 USO tours have enhanced the lives of nearly 256,000 troops and military families.

In 2014, he was given the Spirit of the USO Award for his work with the organization, which has so far included 11 tours and more than 285 events in over 18 countries. In an even more personal instance of philanthropy, he became the face of his hometown after it was ravaged by a tornado, shouldering the cleanup, and headlining the 2013 OK Twister Relief Concert.
Lauren Jo Black, a University of Central Florida graduate, has immersed herself in the world of country music for over 15 years. In 2008, she co-founded CountryMusicIsLove, eventually selling it to a major record label in 2015. Following the rebranding of the website to Sounds Like Nashville, Black served as Editor-in-Chief for two and a half years. Currently, she assumes the role of Editor-in-Chief at Country Now and oversees Country Now’s content and digital footprint. Her extensive experience also encompasses her previous role as a Country Music Expert Writer for Answers.com and her work being featured on Forbes.com. She’s been spotlighted among Country Aircheck’s Women of Influence and received the 2012 Rising Star Award from the University of Central Florida. Black also spent time in front of the camera as host of Country Now Live, which brought live music directly to fans in 2021 when the majority of concerts were halted due to the pandemic. During this time, she hosted 24 weeks of live concerts via Country Now Live on Twitch with special guests such as Lady A, Dierks Bentley, Jordan Davis, Brett Young, and Jon Pardi. Over the course of her career, she has had the privilege of conducting interviews with some of the industry’s most prominent stars, including Reba McEntire, Blake Shelton, Luke Combs, Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, Miranda Lambert, Lainey Wilson, and many others. Lauren Jo Black is a longtime member of the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music.