Toby Keith Says Country Artists Survive Due to Fans, Not Politics

Toby Keith is nominated for ACM's Entertainer of the Year award, and the outspoken singer tells WYCD that he is actually super stoked to be recognized as a nominee simply because it is a fan-voted honor. He also was quick to point out that country artists survive because of their fans.

Keith says, "It's wonderful to have the fans vote on that stuff. For the last several years, I haven't been an award-friendly guy. I kinda gave up on it years ago, but I said all along, if you let the fans vote on it, you can't complain." Later in the interview, he sums up the same perspective, saying, "If you didn't get nominated, try harder again next year!”

The singer is known for voicing his political views regarding the government in interviews, but he doesn’t approve of music business politics bleeding over into art or affecting the consumers. He declares, "Politics playing into music? There is no place for it. It's a fan-based industry. We all survive off of our fans."

Keith reveals that he just signed a brand new artist to his label, Show Dog Nashville, recently, and the artist thanked Keith for giving him a chance. The newbie then asked if the legend had any advice for him moving forward, to which Keith admits: "I said, 'No. I did everything wrong.' But it ain't up to us. All we can do is put it out. It's up the fans anyway.”