Garth Brooks Pulled A Strange ‘Trick’ At His Concert That Made The Crowd Fall Silent

Garth Brooks has always had an unusual relationship with his fame. It makes sense when you consider his rise from obscurity as a simple Oklahoma boy to become a country music superstar. Thanks to hungry fans buying up millions of his albums, he’s the top-selling artist of the past decade. But Brooks has still harbored doubts about his own abilities. So, after a lengthy break, the musician started touring again — only this time with a 'special ritual'.

Another comeback

When Brooks chose to start performing again, he was worried his fans had moved on to other country stars. He didn’t know if they’d buy tickets for what was supposed to be his comeback tour. This would be one of the first times he’d played publicly since he went into retirement 14 years before. He knew things couldn’t be exactly the same as they were back then.

Retiring from performing

Brooks retired from country music on October 26, 2000 — the same day his record company held a party to celebrate his selling 100 million albums. He was tired of the hectic touring life and wanted more time to spend with his wife and three daughters. 

Fulfilling expectations

But with so few public appearances since then, Brooks wasn’t convinced he could fill stadiums in the 2010s. “I was scared nobody would show up, scared to death,” he said. “Because you don’t want to disappoint people.” If the fans were paying to go, he didn’t want them to be disappointed with his performance, either.

Odd change

“That’s the whole thing. And you sure as hell don’t want them walking out going, ‘Poor Garth. But, man, in his day.’ I wanted them to say, ‘That’s better than I remember it,’” Brooks said. This self-doubt was interesting, as it was coming from someone who broke an ACM Awards record in 1991.