Randy Travis to Lip-Syncing Garth Brooks: ‘We Love Ya’
When Garth Brooks admitted he was lip-syncing during his CMA Awards performance of "Ask Me How I Know" on Nov. 8, social media reaction was swift, from both fans and fellow performers. Particularly stinging was commentary from Miranda Lambert and her boyfriend Anderson East, who decried Brooks' actions as offensive. ("If you can’t sing then don’t," stated Lambert.)
However, other country superstars are coming out in support of Brooks, including Randy Travis, who tweeted an encouraging message and later expanded on his thoughts, explaining that "our family in music should be the first to understand."
Travis' Nov. 10 comment was made in response to a similar one from Blake Shelton, who tweeted his love for the legendary entertainer.
Brooks excused his performance, blaming it on a week-long illness that compromised his vocals. "We decided to lip-sync it because my voice was just not there," he said per the Tennessean, "and we wanted to represent country music the best we can."
Travis, of course, knows very well about medical difficulties affecting one's voice. He weathered a massive stroke in 2013, following a long period of personal and professional controversies, and has been unable to speak or walk without assistance since.
Since 2014, he has been re-learning skills, including taking up his musical ambitions again. He has been giving select, brief performances, including one on RFD-TV's The Penny Gilley Show in September.
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