Jon Pardi, one of the most unproblematic country singers out there, subtly slighted Garth Brooks during a country artist challenge. And I can only wonder what he meant by it.
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The country singer sat down with CMT to partake in an elimination challenge where he pits artists against each other to find out who his "Ultimate Opry Headliner" is. He was initially given two artists to pick between, Minnie Pearl and Johnny Cash.
Naturally, he chose Johnny Cash. From then on, he would be given a new artist to compete against the winner of the previous round. This kept going for a handful of rounds, and Jon Pardi, unproblematic as ever, always chose the new artist, no matter who it was.
Either he didn't understand the challenge, didn't want to play favorites, or genuinely thinks equally highly of every single country singer on that list. Apart from Garth Brooks, it seems.
When deciding between Reba McEntire and Keith Whitley, he chose Whitley, and said, "Keith Whitley for sure. I mean, I put Keith Whitley at the top of the list." He then immediately chose the next singer over Keith Whitley, despite him apparently being at the top of the list. To be fair, it was Dolly Parton, but that still goes against what he said a second ago and the nature of the challenge.
So yeah, he either didn't understand the challenge or didn't want to ruffle any feathers. Why, then, was the only artist he didn't choose Garth Brooks?
Jon Pardi Inexplicably Rejects Garth Brooks
After he chose Dolly Parton, she became the artist to beat. And the next contender? Garth Brooks. He immediately chose Dolly Parton. This marks Garth Brooks as the only contender he rejected.
I can't help but feel this is either personal, or professional.
Garth Brooks is currently in hot water for the sexual assault allegations made against him. I think Jon Pardi rejected Garth Brooks to avoid any association with the singer whatsoever.
His choices in the challenge were clearly not authentic. He accepted every contender, never sticking with the same artist for more than one turn. He showered everyone with compliments, and even dethroned his own personal favorite.
Yet he dropped Garth Brooks. If he had rejected any other contender in the challenge, this wouldn't be a big deal. But he didn't, and I can't help but wonder if Jon Pardi wanted to keep his nose clean, or if he doesn't like Garth Brooks on a more personal level.
