The chemistry between Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood is undeniable. And the power couple further proved that every time they perform together.
Take for instance, the 2016 CMA Awards, where we got treated to an extra special performance of the husband-wife duo. Together, they joined forces to bring Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on a journey beyond some of country music’s biggest classics.
They began the performance with Johnny Cash and June Carter’s 1967 hit “Jackson” – which tells the tale of a married couple who find that their relationship no longer has the fire that it has before. The song then narrates the couple’s desire to travel to “Jackson,” where they each await to be greeted as someone far better fitted to the city’s lively nightlife.
Brooks and Yearwood then proceeded into the memorable moments of several other classics: “I Beg Your Pardon, I Never Promised You a Rose Garden” by Lynn Anderson, “Don’t Close Your Eyes” by Keith Whitley, and “Golden Ring” by George Jones. The two ended the incredible performance with a sweet kiss.
“I’ve wanted to do that for a hundred years,” Brooks said to PEOPLE about how he couldn’t resist kissing his wife. “Usually, when we sing together, we stand back and bow, but I just want to eat her alive! I thought she did so well, and she was so gorgeous, and I actually thought the cameras were off us — that’s why I did it. And that was probably one of the best kisses I ever got from her!”
The crowd can’t help but go wild. Indeed, that’s a horrific bunch of history taken in just a few minutes, but Brooks and Yearwood made it look easy.
From The Power Couple Themselves
Before the event, Brooks promised that the 2016 CMA Awards wouldn’t be like any other yearly installment of the biggest awards show in country music.
For You
“Hats off to all the artists,” Brooks said. “I don’t know if you guys know this, but all of the artists are pretty much saying the same thing. ‘Hey, screw my current stuff, whoever we need to pay homage to, whoever we need to — count us in!'”
“You know, all the guys — Jason [Aldean], Alan [Jackson], Keith [Urban] — all the guys, all the girls are all doing past music from other artists,” he added. You can say Brooks stuck to his promise.
But the great night did not end there. It only got better when Brooks was named CMA Entertainer of the Year — twenty-five years after winning his first one.
“There you are, a crazy kid like everybody else, and you get lucky, and you have your run. Then you leave, you raise your babies, fifteen, sixteen years, and then say, I’d like to come back. And people show up,” Brooks said of winning again after so many years. “And so the gratitude this time – I don’t think I took things for granted then, but there is a level of gratitude that is unbelievable just because you’re able to do this still this late in your career.”
With more than ten CMA Awards together, Brooks and Yearwood are certainly country music royalty. Yearwood made history when she became the first woman to be named CMA Female Vocalist of the Year twice – in 1997 and 1998 – since Mary Chapin Carpenter five years earlier. On the other hand, Brooks was named Entertainer of the Year four times and had eleven CMA Awards under his belt.
You can watch Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood relive classic country tunes during the 2016 CMA Awards in the video below. It’s a performance you won’t soon forget.
