Brooks lip-syncing controversy at the CMA awards hit a nerve
SOMEHOW, the most controversial aspect of last week’s Country Music Association Awards had nothing to do with politics.
During the trophy ceremony on Wednesday at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, many viewers suspected that country legend Garth Brooks was lipsyncing as he performed his latest single, “Ask Me How I Know.” At one point, he held the microphone away from his face and his vocal track kept going.
After the show, Brooks didn’t make any excuses. He explained to reporters that with a run of 12 concerts in 10 days, his voice was shot. “We decided to lipsync it because my voice was just not there, and we wanted to represent country music the best we can,” he said.
Some people understood while others thought that was a pretty lame move, especially considering Brooks was awarded entertainer of the year, the most prestigious prize of the night. As viewers debated his decision to lip-sync, Brooks’s fellow country singers started to weigh in.
“I keep a lot of my opinions to myself and respect anyone making music but as a person who tries to put the best and most honest show I can on night after night . . . this truly offends me,” singer-songwriter Anderson East tweeted. “I was told country music is three chords and the truth.”
Things escalated further when Miranda Lambert, one of the genre’s biggest stars who has been dating East for two years, commented on East’s Instagram page, where he posted a image of his tweet. “High Five on this babe,” she wrote. “If you can’t sing then don’t. It’s better to be honest than to pretend. I think it’s bull (expletive). My favourite performances in the show were live live. The truth.”
As if that wasn’t enough drama, Lambert’s ex-husband, “The Voice” star Blake Shelton, jumped into the mix to defend Brooks, tweeting “Hey @ garthbrooks. . . I still love you. #hero#respect”
Then country star Randy Travis’s Twitter account weighed in on the controversy, posting two messages in support of the singer.
One posted Sunday night seemed to take a jab at East and Lambert with the “our family in music” comment: “We love ya @ garthbrooks#iconhttps” and “@ garthbrooks A friend, a man, an artist who gives ALL, always! Our family in music should be the 1st to understand-after you walk in our shoes, get back with us! -RT” — WP-Bloomberg