Shelton and wife Gwen Stefani prerecorded their AMAs performances in front of a live studio audience before the actual show

On Monday (May 26), Blake Shelton made his performance debut at the American Music Awards. He took the stage to sing “Stay Country or Die Tryin’” from his most recent album, For Recreational Use Only. The performance had fans who were watching from home pumped to see Shelton doing one of his newest tracks. However, the response wasn’t the same for those who attended the awards show in Las Vegas. They watched the same pre-recorded performance as those who didn’t spend money on tickets, as it played on a big screen above an empty stage.

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Fans who attended the American Music Awards posted videos of the pre-recorded performances on social media. Many felt that the advertisement for the awards show had been a lie because Shelton and Gwen Stefani were billed as performers but weren’t actually in the building. Today (May 28), Shelton took to social media to speak on the backlash.

Just now seeing these stories about Gwen and I pretaping our performances for the AMA’s. We came and performed when the show asked us to.. Really nothing else to say. 🤷‍♂️

— Blake Shelton (@blakeshelton) May 28, 2025

“Just now seeing these stories about Gwen and I pre-taping our performances for the AMAs,” Shelton wrote in the post. “We came and performed when the show asked us to. Really nothing else to say,” he added, ending the post with a shrug emoji.

Blake Shelton on “Stay Country or Die Tryin’”

Blake Shelton released “Stay Country or Die Tryin’” in April ahead of the release of his most recent album For Recreational Use Only. Written by Drew Parker, Graham Barham, Sam Ellis, and Beau Bailey, the track immediately caught Shelton’s attention. He heard the track while selecting songs for the new album and new it was going to be huge.

“When I heard ‘Stay Country or Die Tryin’ it took me back to the first time I heard ‘Ol’ Red’ or ‘God’s Country,’” he said. “It’s got so much energy and is full of those little catchphrases and things we say out in the country. I absolutely fell in love with it,” he added. “I’m proud of this recording–and I love singing it live even more. Hopefully, you’ll come catch a show and sing it with us.”