Alan Jackson’s Triumphant Return to the 2025 ACM Awards Leaves Fans in Tears — “I Can’t Believe This Moment” ML

Alan Jackson made an emotional return to the ACM Awards.

On Thursday, May 8, the country icon took the stage at the 2025 awards show, where he delivered a sweet rendition of his 2003 track “Remember When” amid his health battle

After performing the song, Jackson, 66, took the stage to receive the first-ever Alan Jackson Lifetime Achievement Award.

“Usually one of my fans tells me they named their dog after me, and I thought that was really something,” he said while accepting his award. “I came to Nashville with a paper sack full of songs and a crazy dream and that all these years later I’m standing here receiving such an honor is mind-blowing.”

He added: “I thank God all the time for all the people that have been a part of my life and career and maintain this all this time.”Alan Jackson at the ACM Awards in Frisco, Texas on May 8, 2025.

Jackson then thanked his wife Denise “who’s been my best friend since I was 17 years old.”

“She’s loved me through the good and the bad, the happy and the sad,” he said. “Influenced me, gave me three beautiful daughters, and she’s helped me keep my feet on the ground all these years. I would not be here without her.”

In September 2021, Jackson revealed on the TODAY show that for the prior 10 years he had been dealing with a degenerative nerve condition called Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, which had affected his ability to walk and perform on stage.

“I’ve been reluctant to talk about this publicly and to my fans, but it’s been a while, and it’s starting to affect my performance on stage a little bit where I don’t feel comfortable,” he told Jenna Bush Hager. “I just wanted the fans and the public to know if they’ve come to see me in the last few years or if they come to see me in the future if I play anymore, what’s going on.”

Added Jackson: “I don’t want them to think I’m drunk on stage because I’m having problems with mobility and balance. I have this neuropathy, neurological disease I inherited from my daddy.”

Check out all of PEOPLE’s full ACM Awards coverage here.

“The Country Boy” musician said his late father, as well as his paternal grandmother and older sister.

According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Charcot-Marie-Tooth affects the nerves that control the muscles, and is relatively common, affecting an estimated 2.6 million people worldwide.

There is no known cure for the disease, but it can be managed with supportive therapy. It also rarely affects the muscles involved in vital functions such as breathing.

At the time, Jackson said his illness was becoming “more and more obvious” since it affects his balance on stage.

“I just want people to know that’s why I look like I do, if they’re wondering,” he said. “I don’t want to appear like some whiny celebrity. It’s not going to kill me, it’s not deadly… It’s not fatal — it’s just going to disable me eventually.”

The 60th Academy of Country Music Awards, hosted by Reba McEntire, streamed live on Prime Video from Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas.