Garth Brooks Speaks out About Lip-Syncing Controversy on ‘Ellen’

Garth Brooks won Entertainer of the Year at the 2017 Country Music Association Awards, but his lip-synced performance during the broadcast garnered much more attention — and backlash — toward the legendary artist.

The “Friends In Low Places” singer opened up to Ellen DeGeneres on Monday to explain his rationale for nixing a live vocal performance for a safer play during country music’s biggest night.

Rather than cancel his performance at the CMAs, Brooks said he and his team made a last-minute call to lip-sync his rendition of “Ask Me How I Know.”

“We did 12 shows in 10 days, and right in the middle of those 12 shows was CMAs,” Brooks said on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. “So we went in and did a track for it, just in case the voice was gone. Made a game-bound decision and played it because we still had seven shows, starting the next night in Spokane.”

Further explaining himself, Brooks admitted that he’d rather save his strongest voice for his own tour than strain himself for an awards show.

“The truth is, I love award shows. I think they’re sweet. But for me, they’re like the tree is to Christmas — they’re the symbol of it, but they’re not what it’s all about,” he continued. “What it’s about is those people that put their butts in the seat, travel, fight that traffic, pay that parking and go. That’s who you want to save your voice for.”

And to prove he means business, Brooks added, “So we made that decision and if it happened again tomorrow I’d make the same decision.”

The singer’s decision to lip-sync at the Nov. 8 show left country fans — and entertainers — divided.

After facing initial backlash for singing to a track, Brooks admitted immediately after the show that his voice wasn’t up to the challenge and he lip-synced.

Singer Miranda Lambert and her boyfriend, Anderson East, slammed the country legend on social media.

“High five on this babe,” Lambert commented. “If you can’t sing then don’t … It’s better to be honest than to pretend.”

“I think it’s bulls–t,” she continued. “My favorite performances in the show were live. The truth.”

Other artists, including Blake Shelton, Randy Travis and Reba McEntire, came to Brooks’ side and shared their support of the artist.

Brooks has been touring with wife Trisha Yearwood for nearly 400 shows over the last three years. The singing duo are wrapping up their tour in December with a run of shows in Nashville, then Brooks teases big things ahead in his 2018-2019 plans.

He earned the title of Entertainer of the Year for the second consecutive time at the CMA Awards and for the sixth time overall.