Garth Brooks Says ‘AGT’ Singer Michael Ketterer Won’t Play Notre Dame Show After Arrest
Garth Brooks revealed on Monday evening (Sept. 24) that America's Got Talent contestant Michael Ketterer, who was recently arrested and accused of domestic violence, will not be performing with him at is upcoming Notre Dame concert, after all.
Brooks took the unusual step of writing a new song for Ketterer to sing during his run on the show at the behest of Simon Cowell, who was rooting for the singer. After Ketterer debuted the song, "Courage of Love," on the season finale on Wednesday (Sept. 19), Brooks invited him to perform during the superstar's much-touted Notre Dame show, which is set for Oct. 20.
Just a day later, on Thursday (Sept. 20), Ketterer was arrested in Hollywood and charged with domestic violence after police responded to a call about a fight with his wife and noticed she had a visible red mark. His bail was set at $50,000.
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Brooks addressed the incident on Monday night during his weekly Facebook Live show, Inside Studio G, telling fans that after speaking with Ketterer over the weekend, "we decided that it's better that he not appear at Notre Dame and perform there."
"That family, they will figure it out, and they will find it within themselves, with the good Lord above, they'll figure it out," he added.
Brooks has been receiving a number of fan messages about the song, and he revealed that he is making his full demo of "Courage of Love" available as part of his as-yet-untitled upcoming studio album. "Courage of Love" will soon be available instantly to those who pre-order the forthcoming album from Amazon.
He explains this will be a longer, more complete version than what Ketterer sang on AGT.
"On television, they're always gonna edit it down, because they only have so much time," Brooks states. "So they had something like two-and-a-half minutes of a song that's about four-and-a-half minutes long. It's a big, beautiful ballad."
Brooks says he and his team will be making some tweaks to his demo to make it sound more complete, and he plans to unveil the new track next Monday during Inside Studio G.
Brooks' next studio album does not yet have a release date. The album's first single, "All Day Long," is currently at country radio.
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