80 years old. More than six decades in music. One Lifetime Achievement Award — but Rod Stewart’s most unforgettable moment at the 2025 AMAs may have been seeing five of his children walk onto the stage to honor him. Surrounded by family, the rock legend looked back on a career that began with nothing more than a burning desire to sing. Then, instead of ending the night with a long farewell, Rod did what he has always done best: he took the microphone and launched into “Forever Young,” dancing across the stage with the same unmistakable spirit fans have loved for generations. After all these years, the title suddenly felt more fitting than ever.

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Rod Stewart Turns the 2025 AMAs Into a Family Celebration With Emotional Lifetime Achievement Honor and “Forever Young”

Rod Stewart Accepts 2025 AMA Lifetime Achievement Award - 100.1 WJRZ

Rod Stewart has spent more than six decades building one of rock music’s most enduring careers, but when the 2025 American Music Awards celebrated that legacy, one of the evening’s most memorable moments had less to do with trophies than with family.

The 80-year-old singer received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the ceremony on May 26 at Fontainebleau Las Vegas, marking his first performance at the AMAs in more than 20 years. Five of Stewart’s eight children — Kimberly, Sean, Ruby, Renee and Liam — appeared onstage to present the honor to their father, a surprise he clearly had not expected.

After embracing his children, Stewart admitted that their appearance had caught him completely off guard.

“I’m absolutely flabbergasted. I didn’t know they were here — my children,” he told the audience.

It transformed a career achievement into something far more personal: a rock legend looking back on decades of music while surrounded by the family that had grown alongside that career.

Rod Stewart

Rod Stewart remembers why he started singing

During his acceptance speech, Stewart returned to the beginning of his musical journey in the early 1960s.

He explained that his original motivation had been remarkably simple. Long before the awards, hit records and international fame, he simply had an overwhelming desire to sing.

Stewart said he had never entered music with the goal of becoming wealthy or famous. Yet more than six decades later, he was standing on the AMA stage accepting an award recognizing the extraordinary body of work that followed.

He also used the moment to acknowledge the musicians who had accompanied him throughout his career and the artists who shaped him, specifically naming Sam Cooke, David Ruffin and Muddy Waters among his major influences.

Those influences helped shape a career that moved through blues and R&B, the Jeff Beck Group and Faces before Stewart became one of rock’s most recognizable solo performers. His catalog ultimately produced more than 50 entries on the Billboard Hot 100, including 16 Top 10 hits.

Rod Stewart Sings 'Forever Young,' Accepts Lifetime Achievement at AMAs

“Forever Young” brings Stewart back to the AMA stage

Once the award had been presented, Stewart reminded the audience why his career has lasted so long.

He launched into his 1988 hit “Forever Young,” delivering the song with the energy and playful stage presence that have defined his live performances for generations.

The production expanded into a celebratory finale featuring backing singers, dancers, fiddles, drums and bagpipes as Stewart moved enthusiastically across the stage.

The song was particularly fitting for the occasion. At 80, Stewart was receiving an award honoring a lifetime in music while continuing to perform rather than simply looking back on what he had already accomplished.

The appearance also marked his first AMA performance since 2004, when he performed Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World.”

More than six decades after it began, the music continues

Despite receiving an honor that naturally invites reflection, Stewart has made clear that he does not view his musical story as finished.

Around the time of the AMAs, he spoke about still having numerous projects he wanted to pursue, including ideas for a covers record, a country album and another Faces project. He also continued performing through his One Last Time tour and Las Vegas engagements.

That makes the Lifetime Achievement Award feel less like a farewell than recognition of an extraordinary journey that remains active.

And perhaps that was why “Forever Young” worked so well as the closing statement.

After decades of hit records, tours and changing musical eras, Rod Stewart stood onstage with five of his children nearby, accepted one of the AMAs’ major career honors and then went straight back to doing the thing he said he had wanted to do since the beginning: sing.