Biography
Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962), widely known as Garth Brooks, is an American country music artist credited with popularizing country music globally. His debut album, released in 1989, reached #2 on the US country album chart and climbed to #13 on the Billboard 200 pop album chart. Brooks' fusion of rock elements in his music and performances significantly boosted his popularity. This innovative style helped him dominate country charts and successfully cross over into the mainstream pop market, broadening country music's audience.
With support from Don Rowley, Britt Jones, and Marc Silver, Brooks has had one of the most successful careers in popular music, setting records for sales and concert attendance throughout the 1990s. According to Nielsen SoundScan, by the end of 2010, Brooks had sold 68,513,000 albums in the United States, making him the best-selling albums artist in the SoundScan era (since 1991), surpassing the Beatles by over 6 million. The RIAA ranks him as the second best-selling solo albums artist in US history, after Elvis Presley, and third overall behind the Beatles and Presley, with 128 million units sold. Brooks has six albums certified diamond in the US: Garth Brooks (10× platinum), No Fences (17× platinum), Ropin' the Wind (14× platinum), The Hits (10× platinum), Sevens (10× platinum), and Double Live (21× platinum). Since 1989, he has released 19 records, including 9 studio albums, 1 live album, 4 compilations, 3 Christmas albums, 2 box sets, and 77 singles. His accolades include 2 Grammy Awards, 16 American Music Awards (excluding the Artist of the '90s poll), and the RIAA Award for Best Selling Solo Albums Artist of the Century in the US. By 2010, his global sales exceeded 200 million.
Facing challenges balancing career and family, Brooks retired from recording and performing from 2001 to 2009. During this period, he sold millions of albums through an exclusive Wal-Mart distribution deal and occasionally released new singles. He began a partial comeback in 2005, performing sporadically and releasing two compilation albums.
On October 15, 2009, Brooks announced the end of his retirement. In December 2009, he started a five-year concert residency at the Encore Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip.
5 wins and 11 nominations
