Authenticity is a top priority for many country music artists. They want to be real in everything they do. They frown on artificiality such as the use of AI. For that reason, lip-syncing is another often-disparaged practice. That is why Eric Church bluntly let fly at Garth Brooks for pretending to sing at the 2017 CMA Awards. Brooks took home he keenly coveted honor of Entertainer of the Year at the ceremony that night. Per Rolling Stone, however, Church openly fumed about the star not really singing "Ask Me How I Know."
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Church Was Irate About Brooks Making Believe He Was Singing
He said, "So the winner of the biggest category of the night lip-synced in the biggest moment of the show? [Expletive] that! And I didn't like his excuse at all." Brooks claimed that he lost his voice due to overuse. He had done a dozen shows in 10 days.
Church added, "I felt like he was speaking for the other nominees. I can speak for myself - I'm not lip-syncing. If I can't sing, I won't sing, or I'll sing badly. But at least you'll get what you get." Church was among the artists in the running for Entertainer of the Year versus Brooks. (The others were Keith Urban, Luke Bryan, and Chris Stapleton.)
He Heatedly Criticized Lip-Syncing
Church also said, "It is and always will be a red line. It's fabricated. I don't want young artists thinking it's OK, because it's not."
Brooks Did Not Back Down
The "Friends in Low Places" star defended his choice not to sing at the CMA Awards. Per The Boot, Brooks said it was a strategic "game-day decision." He evidently had upcoming concerts and wanted to protect his voice so he could be at his best.
Brooks said, "What it's about is those people who put those butts in the seat, travel, fight that traffic - that's who you save your voice for. We made the decision, and I gotta tell you, if it happened again tomorrow, I'd make the same decision."
Clearly, both of these country music singers are very gifted. They obviously have sharply differing ideas on this subject. And most likely always will.
