“Wasn’t a Dry Eye in the Room”: Krystal Keith’s Tribute Cover on ‘Toby Keith: American Icon’ Has Fans Choked Up

Toby Keith stood defiantly onstage at the 2023 People’s Country Choice Awards and looked his own mortality squarely in the eye. Even with stomach cancer ravaging his body, he delivered an affecting rendition of his 2019 hit “Don’t Let the Old Man In.” It would become the native Oklahoman’s final public performance before his death in February at age 62. Five months later, a star-studded cast packed Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena to give Keith a proper send-off. Everyone from Lainey Wilson to Trace Adkins came to honor the country star during the two-hour NBC special Toby Keith: American Icon. But it was his youngest daughter, Krystal Keith, who gave arguably the night’s most affecting performance.

Krystal Keith Echoes Her Father’s Final Televised Performance

Watching Toby Keith’s September 2023 performance is even more chilling today. Hindsight adds that much more emotional heft to the lyrics: And I knew all of my life / That someday it would end / Get up and go outside / Don’t let the old man in.

Wearing a glittering black dress and her father’s trademark cowboy hat, Krystal Keith sang those same words. Images of Krystal and Toby played onscreen behind the 39-year-old singer-songwriter during her performance. At times, she seemed to sing directly to her late father: When he rides up on his horse / And you feel that cold bitter wind / Look out your window and smile / Don’t let the old man in.

“She’s got that shaky grit sound like her daddy!” one TikTok user commented on a video of the performance.

[RELATED: 3 Things To Know About Krystal Keith, Daughter of Late Country Icon Toby Keith]

Toby Keith’s Daughter Takes Solace In Listening to His Music

Krystal Keith turns to her father’s 30-year musical catalogue when she wants to feel closer to him. And the “Daddy Dance With Me” singer hopes this two-hour special accomplishes the same for his fans.

“This amount of people and networks honoring him is a reminder that he wasn’t just ours. He was the world’s,” she wrote in an Instagram post shortly after the country star’s death. “He is the gift that we were, as a family, able to offer the world.”

Featured image via Instagram