Alan Jackson Performs at 2025 ACM Awards Amid Health Battle | Us Weekly

Tonight (May 8), the Academy of Country Music is celebrating 60 years of the ACM Awards. The award show could go on for decades. However, Alan Jackson’s career won’t last much longer. He’ll play his final concert later this month. Then, he plans to retire from touring due to health issues. Tonight, though, he reminded everyone why he is one of the most celebrated singer/songwriters in modern country music with a touching rendition of “Remember When.”

The 2025 ACM Awards LIVE Blog - Saving Country Music

Everyone in the Ford Center was on their feet before Jackson sang the first note. The country traditionalist chose to forgo over-the-top stage production. Instead, the “Remember When” video played on the screen behind him as soft blue bulbs lit the stage. Jackson fought back tears as he savored the last note of the song, leaving everyone else in the same state.

Watch the video down below and don’t forget to share this beautiful song with your friends and family…

Since releasing his debut single, “Blue Blooded Woman” in 1989, Jackson has notched 36 No. 1 singles on the Billboard country charts. He could have picked any one of those to perform during what may be his final ACM Awards appearance. However, he chose to leave the entire audience in tears with his 2003 chart topper “Remember When.”

Alan Jackson Strikes a Sentimental Chord at the ACM Awards

The song fit tonight’s theme like a glove. The ACM is celebrating its 60-year milestone and started the show with a look back at Song of the Year winners from decades past. Additionally, Jackson will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award during tonight’s broadcast. It’s an award celebrating all he has done for country music over the last three decades. “Remember When” sees the Georgia native looking back on his long and loving relationship with his wife, Denise, and their children.

He wrote the song and released it in October 2003 as the second and final single from Greatest Hits Volume II. The track went to the top of the chart and stayed there for two weeks. Since then, it has joined songs like “Chattahoochee” and “Don’t Rock the Jukebox” among Jackson’s most popular songs.