Garth Brooks Admits to Lip Syncing at the 2017 CMA Awards: "The Voice Is Just Not There"

Country star explains why he did not sing live during Wednesday night's award show

By Samantha Schnurr Nov 09, 2017 4:42 PMTags
Watch: Garth Brooks on 6th Entertainer of the Year Win

Garth Brooks is saying it loud and clear: he lip synced. 

The country star, who was honored as Entertainer of the Year at the 2017 CMA Awards for the second year in a row, has admitted to lip syncing during his performance of "Ask Me How I Know" Wednesday night.

Fans quickly noticed the crooner was not singing his hit track live when the sound didn't match with what he was saying into his microphone. Disheartened fans shared their shock on social media, but Brooks was quick to address the outrage when he spoke to reporters backstage at the awards. 

According to Brooks, it was for the benefit of country music. "We did our rehearsal today and we did a game time call on whether we did sing the track or lip sync it and I decided to lip sync it because the voice is just not there and you want to represent country music the best you can," the star said backstage.

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2017 CMA Awards: Red Carpet Couples
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In Brooks' defense, the star has been on a world tour for the last two years with his famous wife, Trisha Yearwood.

At some stops, the duo even performs two shows a night, so clearly the singer is putting in serious time on stage—hours that may have taken a recent toll on his vocal chords. 

"It's been 400 shows and we're all exhausted, but having the time of our lives," he told E! News backstage. As the husband and wife shared, they're looking forward to returning home for the holidays and sleeping. 

Despite any backlash, the 2017 Entertainer of the Year considered the evening an overall "winning night." As he tweeted,  "I get to carry the Queen's shoes and take home EOTY!"