Anderson East on Garth Brooks’ CMA Lip-Syncing: ‘This Truly Offends Me’
UPDATE: Miranda Lambert has offered her take on the Garth Brooks‘ CMA Awards lip-syncing controversy, reinforcing Anderson East‘s initial post blasting Brooks for miming his song “Ask Me How I Know.” “If you can’t sing then don’t. It’s better to be honest than to pretend,” she wrote. “I think it’s bull shit. My favorite performances in the show were live live. The truth.” Lambert’s comments appear on East’s Instagram.
While Wednesday’s CMA Awards were preceded by a controversy over media guidelines, one of the night’s hottest topics continues to be how Garth Brooks – who repeated as Entertainer of the Year – lip-synced his performance. Anderson East, an artist who isn’t usually known for sharing much in the way of personal or political sentiments, did not appreciate the effort.
“I keep a lot of my opinions to myself and respect anyone making music but as a person who tries to put on the best and most honest show I can night after night… this truly offends me,” the singer Tweeted Thursday night, linking to an article disucssing Brooks’ admission. “I was told country music is three chords and the truth.”
Indeed, as soon as Brooks launched into the performance of his single “Ask Me How I Know,” social media was afire with speculation that the megastar was not singing live. Shortly after coming offstage in the pressroom, Brooks addressed the accusations head-on.
“We’re in the middle of 12 shows in 10 days. Not 10 shows in 12 days, 12 shows in 10 days,” he told reporters backstage. “We did a game-time call on whether to sing the track or lip-sync, and decided to lip-sync. The voice just isn’t there anymore, and you want to represent country music as best you can.”
East, an Americana artist whose new album Encore will be released January 12th, is known for a powerful, gravelly breed of soul. He’s also in a public relationship with Miranda Lambert – who was named the CMA’s Female Vocalist of the Year during Wednesday’s show.
I keep a lot of my opinions to myself and respect anyone making music but as a person who tries to put on the best and most honest show I can night after night… this truly offends me. I was told country music is three chords and the truth. https://t.co/jucvh4xmpy
— Anderson East (@Andersoneast) November 10, 2017