Garth Brooks joined forces with his wife Trisha Yearwood to perform a tribute to the late country music icons George Jones and Tammy Wynette at a celebration of the Grand Ole Opry’s 100th anniversary on Wednesday.
But the 63-year-old country icon received less-than-stellar reviews of his duet on social media, as fans lambasted his singing voice and stylistic choices at his Opry 100: A Live Celebration performance, even as they praised his 60-year-old wife’s half of the duet.
The controversial performance comes just three months after he suffered a defeat in court when a judge denied his request to have a sexual assault lawsuit filed against him thrown out.
Brooks has vehemently denied the allegations, which were made by a makeup artist who formerly worked for Yearwood.
Before his performance at the iconic theater, the singer looked back at the history of country music.
‘One hundred years of country music, that’s some rich history right there. You talk about the history of country music there is going to be a question coming up in the first five minutes: “Who is the greatest singer in country music?” You’re going to ask 100 different people you’re going to get 100 different answers,’ Brooks said.
Garth Brooks, 63, and his wife Trisha Yearwood, 60, sang a tribute to the late country music icons George Jones and Tammy Wynette at a celebration of the Grand Ole Opry’s 100th anniversary on Wednesday in Nashville, Tennessee (pictured)
But the country icon received less-than-stellar reviews on social media, as fans lambasted his singing voice and stylistic choices at his Opry 100 performance, even as they praised Yearwood, 60
Brooks said he thought the greatest country singer of all time was George Jones, and he sang one of his classic solo tunes, 1980’s He Stopped Loving Her Today; seen with Wynette in 1989
‘But for me, it’s who it always was and who it always will be: George Jones,’ he declared.
It wasn’t surprising that Brooks also thought the greatest country music song was also performed by Jones.
He singled out the timeless classic He Stopped Loving Her Today, which was written by Bobby Braddock and Curly Putman and released by Jones in 1980.
The song tells the story of a man who vows never to stop loving a woman who has left him, and it’s only after his death intercedes that the narrator admits the man has stopped loving his old flame.
After his solo performance, during which he played acoustic guitar, Brooks invited his wife Trisha on stage to play the role of Jones’ one-time wife Tammy Wynette for a duet of Your Good Girl’s Gonna Go Bad, followed by another of their most popular duet numbers, Golden Ring, though neither Jones nor Wynette wrote either tune.
Jones and Wynette were both on their third marriage when they tied the knot in 1969.
The two were a beloved as a duo on stage, but their marriage behind-the-scenes was marred by his ongoing struggles with alcohol addiction.
After an aborted divorce filing in 1973, Wynette filed again in 1975, though the two later settled their differences and performed together in later years, and they reunited to record a final album together in 1995.
The song tells the story of a man who vows never to stop loving a woman who has left him, and it’s only after his death intercedes that the narrator admits the man has stopped loving his old flame
After his solo performance, during which he played acoustic guitar, Brooks invited his wife Trisha on stage to play the role of Jones’ one-time wife Tammy Wynette
Your Good Girl’s Gonna Go Bad, followed by another of Jones and Wynette most popular duet numbers, Golden Ring, though neither Jones nor Wynette wrote either tune
Wynette later died in 1998, while Jones passed away in 2013.
Despite Brooks’ obvious passion for Jones and Wynette’s music, many fans on social media weren’t sold.
Several people called out Brooks, either for trying but failing to nail Jones’ distinctive style, or because they didn’t think he tried hard enough in the first place.
‘Wish Garth would have just sang the song instead of trying to impersonate George,’ one viewer complained on X (formerly Twitter).
Garth Brooks couldn’t tie Jones shoes man. George by miles and miles over this guy [sic],’ wrote another viewer.
One fan labeled Brooks and Yearwood the ‘biggest frauds in #countrymusic’ and said their tribute was ‘horrible.’
Others dug Yearwood’s performance but didn’t think her husband reached the same heights.
‘Trisha killed it. Garth butchered it,’ one fan wrote bluntly.
Several people called out Brooks, either for trying but failing to nail Jones’ distinctive style, or because they didn’t think he tried hard enough in the first place
One fan labeled Brooks and Yearwood the ‘biggest frauds in #countrymusic’ and said their tribute was ‘horrible’
Others dug Yearwood’s performance but didn’t think her husband reached the same heights
Another opined that ‘Trisha is singing circles around this bum Garth.’
One viewer even wrote that they were ‘giving late-stage George and Tammy energy, if you know what I mean,’ which appeared to be a derisive crack, based on another of their posts: ‘Eff Garth Brooks, and eff everyone in the room applauding him.’
A few country fans even poked fun at Brooks for what they thought was his unnatural looking hair dye.
‘Garth gotta give up the Just for Men 😂😂,’ one poster joked.
But some viewers appreciated Garth’s performance.
‘Got dang, Garth Brooks nailed all those little inflections George Jones did!’ one fan enthused.
Another poster who wasn’t normally a Brooks fan also enjoyed the songs.
‘My first ever compliment paid to Garth Brooks… Good job on the Possum Tribute,’ they wrote, referring to Jones’ nickname.
One viewer even wrote that they were ‘giving late-stage George and Tammy energy, if you know what I mean,’ which appeared to be a derisive crack
A few country fans even poked fun at Brooks for what they thought was his unnatural looking hair dye
But some viewers appreciated Garth’s performance and his similarities to Jones’ style
The divisive performance follows a denial of Brooks’ request to dismiss his sexual assault lawsuit, according to Fox News; seen November 25, 2024 in Los Angeles
The divisive performance follows a denial of Brooks’ request to dismiss his sexual assault lawsuit, according to Fox News.
The country star filed the motion in November in the central district of California, which was ‘denied with prejudice’ by US District Judge Michael Fitzgerald.
The reason was due to the ‘original action’ was still pending in the state of Mississippi and the judge ordered the California case to be ‘stayed’ in the meantime.
The Grammy winner then requested the case in California be moved to Mississippi.
A former makeup artist who worked for his wife Trisha Yearwood accused him of sexual assault and battery in court documents filed in a California state court in October.
Before the makeup artist filed her lawsuit, Brooks was aware of her allegations and anonymously filed to fight back, using the name ‘John Doe’ in a lawsuit he filed in Mississippi in September, as reported by CNN.
‘Jane Roe’ was originally hired to do hair and makeup for Yearwood in 1999, and Brooks eventually enlisted her to do so for him in 2017, she claims.
The plaintiff, who filed anonymously as ‘Jane Roe’ in October, alleges the country icon brought her with him to Los Angeles for a Grammy event honoring the R&B singer Sam Moore in May 2019.
The country star, 62, filed the motion last month, which was ‘denied with prejudice,’ the outlet revealed; pictured November 6, 2024 in Nashville
The plaintiff was originally hired to do hair and makeup for Yearwood, and Brooks eventually enlisted her to do so for him, she claims; Brooks and Yearwood pictured last month
In the suit, the plaintiff claims the Friends in Low Places singer booked only one hotel suite there for both of them, and when she asked for a separate accommodation, he would not provide one.
She also accused him of then accosting her in the doorway nude, hauling her into another room, dangling her upside down by the ankles and raping her, in court documents obtained by Dailymail.com.
In her lawsuit, the makeup artist alleged that Brooks would send her sexually explicit text messages, tell her about his sexual fantasies – including bringing up threesomes with his wife Trisha Yearwood.
She also accused him of exposing his buttocks and genitals to her on more than one occasion and repeatedly changing clothes in front of her.
According to the makeup artist’s suit, Brooks allegedly made advances to her at his home in 2019, before the Los Angeles trip when she says the rape occurred.
She claims she was at Brooks’ house, waiting for him to meet her so that she could apply his makeup, when he emerged naked and erect from the shower.
She alleged that he then ‘grabbed her hands and forced them’ onto his erection, telling her he harbored fantasies that she would perform fellatio on him while wearing her glasses until he would eventually climax onto her face.
Hours after the makeup artist filed the complaint, the artist denied the rape accusations against him, calling it a ‘hush money’ shakedown.
Hours later, the artist denied the rape accusations against him, calling it a ‘hush money’ shakedown; pictured in February
Brooks responded to the accusations in a statement to DailyMail.com: ‘For the last two months, I have been hassled to no end with threats, lies, and tragic tales of what my future would be if I did not write a check for many millions of dollars.’
‘Hush money, no matter how much or how little, is still hush money. In my mind, that means I am admitting to behavior I am incapable of — ugly acts no human should ever do to another,’ he added.
Brooks, who previously denied the claims in a complaint filed under ‘John Doe’, said: ‘We filed suit against this person nearly a month ago to speak out against extortion and defamation of character. We filed it anonymously for the sake of families on both sides.’
Brooks said the situation ‘has been like having a loaded gun waved in my face.’
He added, ‘I want to play music tonight. I want to continue our good deeds going forward. It breaks my heart these wonderful things are in question now. I trust the system, I do not fear the truth, and I am not the man they have painted me to be.’
Garth and Trisha have been married since 2005; he has three children with his former wife Sandy Mahl.
