Garth Brooks releasing part of new album

Album has been two years in the making

Garth Brooks has abruptly planned to release half of his new album Fun at midnight ET Tuesday morning (May 12th), although it may not happen immediately. The country superstar made the shocking announcement — that even surprised his staff — on his weekly Inside Studio G Facebook Live show on Monday.

“I don’t want to be the guy that tries to do something in the midst where everybody is hurt,” he says when answering a fan’s question about the album’s possible summer delay. “So it’s like, ‘Dammit.’ The album’s ready to go, and you sure want to do something. And it has nothing to do about the success of the album, it’s just how to do get out and promote and be happy and jolly while everybody’s out there, not only fighting for their lives physically, but fighting for their lives financially. It’s here. We’ll just figure out…”

Brooks pauses as the idea comes to mind.

“We’ll get Amazon on the phone. You can stream Garth. Let’s release half of the album on Amazon tonight. Can we do that? Let’s figure it out. Let’s check and see if we can. Let’s figure it out because… You want new stuff [Jack, who asked the question]. We’ll pick some new stuff out like ‘Party Gras,’ ‘That’s What Cowboys Do.’ We’ll do stuff like that. People, I’m telling you right now, it’s fun, but it’s frickin’ country music. It’s country. [I’m] so proud of this. Let’s take a look at this and see what we can do and we’ll get on the phone with the guys from Amazon, and see how soon we can release something that you can pull up on Amazon that’s new Garth stuff.”

Brooks announced the title of the album in January 2019, but has been releasing songs since summer 2018. Advanced tracks include the lead single, “All Day Long” and its B-side “The Road I’m On,” as well as the ballad “Stronger Than Me” and current single “Dive Bar” with Blake Shelton. A rough mix of “Courage Of Love,” featured on America’s Got Talent, has also been released to fans who’ve pre-ordered, although no word if the song will be included on Fun.

It was announced last week that Brooks has expanded his partnership with Words With Friends 2. Under the arrangement, which includes teaming with Zynga Inc. in collaboration with Amazon Music and Twitch, Brooks will promote Words With Friends with original broadcasts and specialized in-game activations. Prime members will also be able to unlock a new Garth Brooks-themed tile style in Words With Friends 2 in the future.

Prime members can claim free mobile game content, such as mystery boxes and exclusive tile styles, within Words With Friends 2. Players will be shown banners showcasing the offers and can sign in with their Amazon accounts to claim their rewards.

It was teased on tonight’s Inside Studio G that something “fun” was coming with the partnership, but isn’t ready to be announced. More details as it becomes available.

Buddy Iahn
Buddy Iahn

Buddy Iahn founded The Music Universe when he decided to juxtapose his love of web design and music. As a lifelong drummer, he decided to take a hiatus from playing music to report it. The website began as a fun project in 2013 to one of the top independent news sites. Email: info@themusicuniverse.com