Blake Shelton Reacts After He & Gwen Stefani Are Criticized for Not Performing Live at AMAs

Alyssa Norwin May 29, 2025, 10:49 am

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Blake Shelton performs onstage during the 60th Academy of Country Music Awards — Jason Kempin/Getty Images

American Music Awards viewers felt seriously duped when behind-the-scenes footage from the show revealed that Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton‘s performances were pre-recorded, despite the broadcast promoting them as “live.” After videos from inside the show went viral, Shelton responded to tell his and Stefani’s side of the story.

“Just now seeing these stories about Gwen and I pretaping our performances for the AMA’s,” he wrote on X. “We came and performed when the show asked us to.. Really nothing else to say.” He concluded his message with a “person shrugging” emoji.

He received major support in the replies, with one person also pointing out that it’s “common practice” for artists to pre-tape awards show performances. Others praised the singers for their performances, regardless of when they were filmed, and many urged Shelton not to listen to the noise and complaints.

Just now seeing these stories about Gwen and I pretaping our performances for the AMA’s. We came and performed when the show asked us to.. Really nothing else to say. 🤷‍♂️

— Blake Shelton (@blakeshelton) May 28, 2025

At the AMAs, Shelton sang “Stay Country or Die Tryin’,” while Stefani performed a medley of some of her biggest hits. People in the audience filmed the stage during both sets, which revealed that previously-recorded videos of the performances were playing onscreen. On the actual stage, crew members were rearranging the set for a future live portion of the show.

@alywinder LIKE WHATTT… why would they say performing live when they aren’t even here?? 😭 #gwenstefani #ama #livetv #dissapointme #taylorswift ♬ original sound – Aly Winder

However, the performances did appear to be recorded live when they were filmed, as they both featured crowds cheering on the singers. One person in the comments section of the BTS videos also explained, “This was recorded on Saturday! I was there, Gwen and Blake’s presentation was recorded.” The show aired two days later on Monday, May 26.

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After a two-year hiatus, the AMAs returned to CBS with Jennifer Lopez stepping in as host. Other performances throughout the night included Janet Jackson‘s return to the stage for the first time in seven years, along with Benson Boone, Lainey Wilson, Reneé Rapp, and more.