Blake Shelton Credits Garth Brooks for Knowing “God’s Country” was a Hit

Blake Shelton recently told American Songwriter that Garth Brooks was the person who convinced him that his 2019 smash "God's Country" was special.

Shelton debuted the song at the Academy of Country Music Awards, and Garth saw the performance.

"I've been doing this for a long time, and the only time Garth Brooks ever has ever reached out to me on the telephone was because of that performance," Shelton told the magazine. "He called to say, 'Man, what the hell was that? That was incredible.’"

Shelton said the conversation eventually led to their "Dive Bar" collaboration. But at the time, Shelton was just focused on reviving his career with "God's Country." Garth's interest made him believe in the song's future — and his own.

"It was like I knew that performance made an impact if Garth was paying attention," Shelton said. 

Garth had another moment with "God's Country" a few months later. By July 2019, the men had recorded "Dive Bar," and Shelton joined Garth at Albertsons Stadium on the Boise State University campus in Idaho. They sang "Dive Bar" together on stage for the first time, and then Garth strapped his guitar to Shelton and watched him sing "God's Country" to the whole stadium.

"I knew he could do it," Garth said. "This is a full stadium all the way up to the rafters, 360 degrees. He sings 'God's Country,' just him and a guitar. The crowd sings with him. I'm crying. The crowd sings along with 'Unanswered Prayers' every night, and it's fabulous. But, I think when you are playing and concentrating, you don't notice it as much as when you get to watch it. When you see it, it's a thousand times more impactful for me."