Rascal Flatts to Appear on Final Week of ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show’

Country trio Rascal Flatts will be making TV history next week, as they're set to appear on the final week of 'The Oprah Winfrey Show.' The band taped a surprise appearance at Chicago's United Center last night for a part one of the special 'Surprise Oprah! A Farewell Spectacular.'

The performance is scheduled to air on the Monday, May 23 episode. The band performed 'I Won’t Let Go' from the album 'Nothing Like This.' Thee song was specifically requested by the show's staff, as they felt the lyrics expressed their emotions for their boss. Awww.

The Flatts have appeared on Oprah's show several times over the past few years. The final Oprah show will air on Wednesday, May 25, marking the end of a daytime TV era.

“We got to perform live at the arena in downtown Chicago, and just a crazy, crazy huge crowd of people, a huge amount of Oprah fans [laughs]. Who doesn't love Oprah?" Rascal Flatts' Joe Don Rooney said of the performance, according to the band's label, Big Machine. "And we got to perform the song 'I Won't Let Go' that's out right now. It's a pretty good hit for us, and it's a very befitting song for her. Her producers wanted us to come and dedicate that song to her. We're all going to remember Oprah's shows for the past 25 years for the rest of our lives. I mean, she's had a way with touching our lives in a unique way, and every episode she's had is always unique from the last one. And she’s done so much for entertainment for our households for so many years. It’s going to be sad seeing Oprah's show not be on TV any more, but we were very proud and honored to be a part of that, no doubt."

Singer Gary LeVox reflected on Winfrey's enduring connection to Americans and how she is almost like a song, saying, "It's really hard to explain her popularity. I think the things that she gets behind and the things she talks about are things that are true and are real and they affect people. It's almost like the power of a song, something with such a universal lyric that means so many things to so many different people. I think she does the same exact thing for current affairs, politics, that kind of stuff, and she says things that a lot of people think, but never say."

LeVox also referenced Oprah's versatility as another reason that her show has resonated over the years, saying, "If you look back at a career like hers with 'The Color Purple,' to acting to all of the stuff she's been able to do. It's hard to go from one thing to the next, so it’d be like if you were a comedian, it'd be really tough to get a record deal and be a singer and taken seriously. But Oprah has been a success at everything she’s tried and it's all been in front of the world, and I think that's a true sign of her character and what type of heart and what type of person she is."

Jay DeMarcus was also psyched to be a part of such a historic sendoff for one of the most popular daytime shows of all time: "We were a part of Oprah’s farewell show, and it was an amazing event, and we were able to do 'I Won't Let Go' and be on there for a truly historical moment. Very few people in this world has accomplished the things that Oprah Winfrey has done, and we were proud to be a part of closing out such a wonderful chapter in her history. And it was an amazing event, and hope everybody enjoys watching it."

Watch Rascal Flatts Perform 'I Won't Let Go'