The ACM Awards stage lit up with powerful performances and unexpected emotional turns—especially when Miranda Lambert took the mic for a song that had fans raising their eyebrows.
The country superstar stunned the audience when she performed her heartfelt ballad “Run” before launching into her fiery duet “Kerosene” with Ella Langley. The lyrics of “Run” pulled no punches:
“And you took too long to see I was unhappy / And I took too long to tell you I was gonna run…”
With Blake Shelton sitting in the front row, fans were quick to connect the dots. Miranda and Blake, once country’s golden couple, divorced in 2015 after four years of marriage. And the emotional weight of the lyrics made many believe she was singing straight from her past—with him right there listening.
Social media lit up with praise for Miranda’s “brave” moment.
“That took guts,” one fan posted. “The truth always finds its way out, and what a beautiful way to share it.”
Another wrote, “Blake was there, and she sang this? Healing in motion.”
But the story didn’t end there. When it was Blake’s turn to perform, he debuted his new track, “Texas”—and fans think it may have been his own musical reply.
Lyrics like:
“She disappeared quicker than this double shot of Jim… / She’s probably in Texas / Amarillo, all I know / George Strait said it / That’s where all them exes go…”
had listeners buzzing.
The online rumor mill kicked into overdrive. Was “Texas” about Miranda? Was this an unspoken musical exchange between exes? Many fans sure thought so.
Both Miranda and Blake have moved on romantically. Miranda married Brendan McLoughlin in 2019, and Blake tied the knot with Gwen Stefani in 2021. But their shared history clearly still echoes in their music.
And speaking of Gwen—she appears on Blake’s new album, For Recreational Use Only, in a duet titled “Hangin’ On.” Despite its heartbreaking lyrics, Gwen was quick to clarify in an interview that the song isn’t about their real-life relationship. “It’s a different tone than what we’ve done before,” she explained, reassuring fans that their marriage is still strong, despite recent tabloid speculation.
So, was the Miranda-Blake exchange a case of emotional closure through song—or just great storytelling from two of country music’s biggest stars? Either way, it made the 60th ACM Awards one for the books.
