Toby Keith Worries About Being Too Successful
Toby Keith has had an almost unmeasurably successful career as an artist and songwriter, and this recognition comes with the trappings of fame. In an interview during his discussion at the 2017 Country Radio Seminar, the country star revealed the difficulties he sometimes faces while out with his family.
“I’m so blessed that I get to do what I want to do. The artist in me gets to cut the songwriter in me['s] songs, and vice versa. I’ve always been comfortable just doing what I do and not having the accolades,” Keith explains, admitting that success in the music industry is often a double-edged sword. “The biggest fear you can have in this business is failure. But I’ve also got a little bit of a fear about being too successful, being too famous.”
While Keith admits he enjoys going out and being himself, it's difficult because he's often recognized. But he's finally made peace with the fact that he's a public figure. As a result, he has accepted that sometimes he just has to pause a family dinner to take a photo with a fan.
“I tell my family, it’s a lot easier to just take the picture and let them go on than explain why we can’t,” Keith adds (quote via the Boot). “It takes a long time to explain to someone why they got a picture and you didn’t, so just snap it and go on. Most of the time, people get it out of the way and go. It’s part of the business. If you just want to be a hermit and not get out, then live like that. I don’t want to be like that. I just lead with my face and figure it out later.”
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