Garth Brooks Announces World Tour, New Album, Digital Release
He may have let the news spill a little earlier than planned on Good Morning America, but Garth Brooks has now made it official in a press conference streamed on his official website: a new album, world tour, and digital catalog release are on the way.
Brooks, who retired in 2001, announced that he has a new record deal with Sony Music, which includes a brand new album for release "sometime around Black Friday" this year, with the first single arriving "sometime in the next two months."
"The new record, I think, is what we would traditionally think of as a double album, just because there's a lot to say," said Brooks, who added that most of the new material has been written by Nashville songwriters. "You just make them yours."
However, Brooks fans shouldn't be worried about his relative lack of input in the songwriting process, as there promises to be some one-of-a-kind tunes on this album, including one song that Brooks says "might very well have taken the place of The Dance for me as my favorite song ever."
Thankfully, for country music fans, we won't have to wait as long for the digital release of his complete catalog as we will for the new album. Although he's been among the longest holdouts when it comes to releasing his music digitally -- with his reasoning being that he didn't want to split his albums into individual tracks -- Brooks promises that his music will be available online "within the next two or three weeks" exclusively via his official website. "It's a cool form," he said. "When you do it right, we'll all succeed."
And that's not even the best news, as Brooks promises that the digital tracks will be at bargain basement prices. The singer stated that people "might think I'm giving it away, but I'm not," adding that the tracks will be sold "at a stupid price."
As for the world tour, Brooks teased that the the opening city of the tour would be announced on July 14th.
"Our job is to go out there and fly the flag for country music," Brooks said of the tour, hinting at the full-scale production he has in store for audiences. "I've seen the world tour stage. It's phenomenal."
However, it wasn't all happy news, as Brooks took a moment to voice his disappointment over having to cancel five planned concerts in Ireland after permits were denied for two of the five shows.
"If anyone on the planet is sad about [the cancellations], you're not one-billionth as sad as I am, "Brooks said of the canceled shows, for which 400,000 tickets were sold. "I'm the loser in this."
Brooks continued, "Ireland’s people should never be embarrassed. Most loving people on earth." The singer added, "If the prime minister himself wants to talk to me, I will craw, I will swim… I will drop on my knees and beg for those 400,000 people to have fun and come sing."
As fans anxiously wait for more details on the world tour, Brooks assures us that what's in store will be worth the patience:
"For those who show up, I hope we give you a show that makes you forget the ones that were in the Nineties."
I have no doubt Brooks can probably still bring it. I'm of the mind that a true showman never really loses it, and Brooks is incredibly underrated in mainstream music in the showmanship and artistry department.
H/T: Rolling Stone / USA Today
Credit: NBC