It was a big night for country music at the first-ever People’s Country Choice Awards on Thursday (Sept. 28), but an even bigger night for Toby Keith – who not only accepted the inaugural Country Icon Award, but also took the stage to perform in front of a live audience for the first time since his cancer diagnosis.

Keith was diagnosed with stomach cancer in the fall of 2021 but kept his diagnosis a secret for as long as possible. He publicly revealed the diagnosis in June 2022 after a year of chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery, and provided an optimistic update earlier this year after making his official return to the stage.

He provided yet another update on the red carpet at the People’s Choice Country Awards. “I feel pretty good. It’s a little bit of a roller coaster. You get good days and, you know, you’re up and down, up and down. It’s always zero to 60 and 60 to zero but I feel good today,” he said in an interview with E! News.

Blake Shelton was the one who presented Toby Keith with the Country Icon Award and it made for quite an emotional moment with Shelton performing ‘Who’s Your Daddy?’ – one of Keith’s most popular songs. They played an emotional video tribute that celebrated Keith’s 30-year career before accepting the award.