Krystal Sandubrae (L), Shelley Covel (C) and Stelen Covel (R) attend the 2024 CMT Music Awards at Moody Center on April 07, 2024 in Austin, Texas.Photo:Kevin Mazur/Getty
Kevin Mazur/Getty
On Sunday, April 7, the late 13-time CMT Award winner’sthree children— Shelley Covel Rowland, Krystal Keith and Stelen Keith Covel — walked the red carpet ahead of the ceremony honoring the brightest stars in country music.
Krystal Sandubrae (L), Shelley Covel (C) and Stelen Covel (R) at the 2024 CMT Music Awards at Moody Center on April 7, 2024 in Austin, Texas.Kevin Mazur/Getty
In a red carpet interview with CMT, Stelen, 27, spoke about feeling as though his father would be honored to see so many of his friends come together in celebration of his life and career.
“I think he’d be really excited,” Stelen said of the tribute performance. “He’s made some amazing music throughout his career, and it’s amazing we get to see that come to fruition, and see his due given.”
Krystal, 38, added that it’s gratifying to see people appreciate the full breadth of her father’s career.
“He was a genius in music, and people are starting to see that now,” said Krystal. “I think people thought he was just an artist, but they’re learning he was so much more than that,” Krystal said.
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Check out all of PEOPLE’s full CMT Awards coverage here.
The mom of two went on to share how grateful she was for the time she had with her father, continuing, “I am so lucky to have had him and so grateful he got to walk me down the aisle and meet my babies. That I have years of memories traveling the world as a family. I am blessed that I got to spend years traveling on the road and singing on stage with him. That I have mountains of video footage and endless tracks of music to watch him on and hear his voice with.”
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Stelenshared his own tributeonInstagramat the time and called his father “my guiding star.”
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“You are the strongest man I have ever known. A fighter. A true titan of your industry. My guiding star. My coach. My hero,” he wrote alongside a throwback photo of himself with his dad.
The 2024 CMT Music Awards are airing live from the Moody Center in Austin, Texas, on CBS and Paramount+.
source: people.com
