Garth Brooks vowed "no more surprises" after the country music superstar caught his wife Trisha Yearwood off guard when he tearfully serenaded her with a heartfelt new song during the CMA Awards.
Brooks joined "Good Morning America" on Monday and revealed that his "Stronger Than Me" performance was one of just two surprises he's ever pulled off for Ms. Yearwood.
"We don't surprise each other. I surprised her twice," he said. "That was once, and I surprised her when I proposed to her. No more surprises."
Despite giving himself a pep talk, Brooks admitted he started tearing up as soon as he looked at his wife.
"I said, 'I'm going to do this, and I'm going to do this right and I won't break down and cry.' I looked right at her during the commercial break and started crying," he said
Yearwood had never heard the song before and she said, 'Never do that to me again.'"
Brooks published the second book of his career, "The Anthology, Part III: Live," and explained the real reason Part II is "missing."
"It's a 'Star Wars' kind of thing. But it's coming down the line," he reassured.
"As much as I shouldn't say this, there are three aspects to a career: songwriting, recording and live. And live by far is my favorite," Brooks said.
Part of why he loves that aspect the most is the fans who have "made the songs the songs."
"You get to be with the people that made the songs the songs and you get to listen to them sing," he said of the concert-goers who sing along with him. "Which means I don't have to do anything -- It's awesome. You start a song. They finish it. Start the next one, they finish it."
(MORE: Keith Urban takes top honor, Carrie Underwood big winner at CMA Awards)The five-time "Entertainer of the Year" is coming hot off his world tour and gearing up for his 2019 North American stadium tour, which already sold out in St. Louis.
Brooks thought an 80,000-seat arena could be nerve-wracking, but said fans "shrink it and it becomes a honky-tonk."
"You get up there and you are scared to death it's going to be too big, and man, they shrink it ... and it becomes a honky-tonk with 80,000 voices singing at you," the performer said.
Brooks said whether it's the old music or the new stuff, "they're singing it just as loud and that makes you feel good."
Garth will be live signing randomly selected orders of his new book tonight. Visit GarthBrooks.com/live to learn more.