Bobby Bones Weighs in on Garth Brooks Defeating Carrie Underwood for CMA Entertainer of the Year

At the end of Wednesday’s 2019 CMA Awards, Garth Brooks was once again crowned country music’s Entertainer of the Year, thanks to the ongoing success of his stadium tour. Carrie Underwood fans were stunned that she lost, as were some in the country music world. But Bobby Bones defended Brooks’ award on his radio show, and said anyone who vilified Brooks is “our of their mind.”

“I was pulling for Carrie to win Entertainer of the Year, but if anyone else won, they deserved it too, because we looked at the stats,” Bones said. One of those people Bones thought had a legitimate reason was Brooks, who “is selling out football stadiums, he’s having number 1 records.”

Bones said it was “OK” to be upset about Underwood losing, but told fans not to “take it out on anybody else” who did win.

“Just in general, in life, you never help anyone by going up and knocking other people down,” Bones continued. “And Garth absolutely deserved to win that award. First of all, he was voted on to win the award by thousands of people who vote for the CMAs. So in that context alone, Garth deserved to win.”

Bones went on to point out that no one else but Garth could sell out a 100,000-seat stadium in the country music industry.

“I said in this one instance I was pulling for Carrie because I thought the time reflected… that it would be a perfect win for her… She didn’t win. Garth did. The end,” Bones said.

The radio host said other artists who couldn’t believe Brooks won are “out of their mind” since they would “not even be here if it wasn’t for Garth.”

Bones said he would understand if someone thought Brooks has won so much in the past that he did not need another win, and believes Brooks would say the same thing too. He pointed out that Brooks also recognized other artists in his acceptance speech.

“But for people to vilify Garth in any way… you’re out of your mind,” Bones said.

Aside from his big win on Wednesday, Brooks also won Entertainer of the Year in 1991, 1992, 1997, 1998, 2016 and 2017.

Underwood was looking to finally win with her second nomination in the category and first since 2016. Underwood, who co-hosted the ceremony with Reba McEntire and Dolly Parton, was also looking to become the first female singer to win since Taylor Swift in 2011.

Although this was his seventh win in the category, Brooks was humble after the victory. He even congratulated Keith Urban, who won in 2018.

“Being the Entertainer of the Year is always a wonderful thought,” Brooks told PopCulture.com and other media after the show. “I’m also trying to remember whose name has been honored for the last 365 days: Keith Urban. Keith Urban’s name is an award, it’s the one you want. It’s one that’s cool. And then my favorite thing about this one – seven is going to be my favorite one because it is a separate one, but because it was on a historic night where country music saluted with and being married to one of the greatest female singers that ever walked this planet, no matter what music genre it is.”

Brooks’ success Wednesday is mostly thanks to his ongoing stadium tour, which began in March. On Saturday, he is performing at Nelyand Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee. He is working on his first album since 2016’s Gunslinger, and released the single “Dive Bar” with Blake Shelton over the summer.

Photo credit: Rich Fury/Getty Images for iHeartMedia