Krystal Keith Shares Memories of Performing on CMA Awards With Dad Toby Keith

Performing for an awards show, especially one that is televised live, is a daunting task for anyone -- or, almost anyone. Toby Keith's daughter, Krystal Keith, took the CMA Awards stage for the first time 10 years ago, for the 2004 show, performing her dad's single 'Mockingbird,' and she says it couldn't have been easier.

"I remember being incredibly secure in it," she recalled to The Boot during 2014 CMA Awards week. "I should have been completely terrified, but I was 18 or 19, and I really just didn't have any reservations about it. My dad was like, 'Well, here's your X, and here's my X, and if you need anything ...' The curtains were about to open, and I was like, 'What I need is for you to get on your X.'"

The songstress says she was unprepared for how small the venue actually was.

"I was excited, because Faith Hill and Tim McGraw were right on the front," Keith continues. "The curtains closed, and my Dad looked over and said, 'So how was it? What do you think?' I said, 'It's a lot smaller than I thought.' Because they used to do it, I don't know if it was the Opry house, but it was a lot smaller at that point.

"Now it's at Bridgestone, so it's massive, but at the time, it was a small auditorium, and you didn't realize it, being at home watching it, you feel like it's so much bigger," she adds, "so I expected it to be this massive place, and it was so tiny."

'Mockingbird' soared into the Top 30 on the charts following their performance, but Keith never heard how well her performance was received, thanks to her famous father.

"My dad's rule was not to read any of that stuff, so I just got to hear what people told me," she says. "He was like, 'I don't want it to affect you. You do your thing, and don't worry what people think about us.' So I don't know what was said in the media, but what I heard was great, and it was a fun song."

The songstress, who released her own 'Whiskey & Lace' album last year, says she has continued to listen to her dad's wisdom as she develops her own career.

“My favorite advice that he gave me is just to stay grounded and not forget where you came from,” Keith shares with The Boot. “It wasn’t ever a conversation, it was more of actions speaking louder than words. He always stayed grounded and never forgot where he came from. I picked up on how important that was.”

Download 'Whiskey & Lace' here.