Miranda Lambert is heating up the 2024 People’s Choice Country Awards — almost like kerosene (pun intended). It was one of the biggest nights of Lambert’s career, with two nominations under her belt and the prestigious Country Icon Award in hand, solidifying Lambert’s powerhouse status in the industry. She also lit up the stage with a fiery performance, and we can’t help but wonder if her song choices threw a little shade Blake Shelton’s way. Now, it’s been a hot minute since Lambert and Shelton called it quits, but it’s clear that there’s no love lost between them. The celebrity couple went their separate ways in 2015 after four years of marriage (and almost a decade together overall), with rumors swirling about infidelity and disagreements over whether to have children being the cause.
While both parties have since moved on — Shelton is now happily married to Gwen Stefani, and Lambert tied the knot with Brendan McLoughlin in 2019 — the tension hasn’t cooled, so much so that they reportedly can’t even bear to be in the same room. “Miranda doesn’t want to attend any event where Blake is the star attraction, and vice versa,” an insider informed Life & Style magazine. “Their egos can’t handle it, and the brutal reality is that they can’t stand the sight of each other.” With the “Nobody But You” hitmaker notably absent from the 2024 PCCAs, Lambert might have seen this as the perfect opportunity to toss a little shade his way through her sizzling performance, because why not?
Miranda performed ‘Kerosene’ and ‘Dammit Randy’
Miranda Lambert slayed in every way possible at the 2024 People’s Choice Country Awards, and her performance was just the icing on the cake. The country queen delivered a medley that included her classic hit “Kerosene” and “Dammit Randy” from Lambert’s latest album. Coincidentally, both tracks happen to be diss songs. Thus, it felt like a not-so-subtle dig aimed squarely at Blake Shelton. The singer-songwriter might not have been in the room this time like he was at the 2019 Academy Of Country Music Awards, but Lambert’s song choices spoke volumes regardless.
“Kerosene,” with its scathing lyrics like “I gave it everything I had and everything I got was bad,” has been a long-time fan favorite for good reason. And while “Dammit Randy” may not be “Dammit Blake,” the line “Well, damn it, Randy, did you ever hear me at all?” still seems to hit a little close to home. Even if the country icon alluded to the song being about her ex-label (and perhaps its CEO, Randy Goodman) we can’t help but feel like there’s some ex-husband energy in there, too. Lambert did address the track’s origin story once, hinting that it’s a dig at Sony Music Nashville.
“We [her and co-writer Jon Randall] were talking about how excited we were to be starting this journey with a new label family and how supported we felt by them, which turned into chatting about situations where you might not feel so supported by someone — in this song’s case, an unappreciative Randy,” she explained on Instagram. “So, this one’s for anyone with a Randy they need to move on from.” Sure, but we’re loving the shade regardless of who it’s aimed at!