Brooks returns to stage, but just for single night

LAS VEGAS - Garth Brooks is back on stage. But this time, it's for one night only. He will receive the inaugural Crystal Milestone Award, to be presented Sunday at the 43rd annual Academy of Country Music Awards.

"(We) called (the Academy) and told them how sweet it was for them to do this, and . . . they said, 'Would you come on the awards show and do this?' And we said, 'You betcha,'" Brooks told AP Television after Saturday night's rehearsals.

Brooks, 46, will perform a medley of his hits on the telecast, scheduled to air 8 p.m. EDT on CBS (tape-delayed on the West Coast). Fans better listen up: it's the last time they may hear him playing live for some time.

In 2000, Brooks announced he was retiring to focus on raising his three children with wife Sandy Mahl, whom he divorced in 2001. In 2005, he married fellow country superstar Trisha Yearwood, with whom he lives in Oklahoma.

He's returned to work only occasionally, performing in a recent string of concerts for charity and to promote his latest CD, a three-disc compilation set called "The Ultimate Hits."

Stepping off the stage for an extended period of time was easier this time around than the first, Brooks said.

"(Back then) you wondered, 'Will I see the guys again, and all this stuff?' So, it was a lot more dramatic," he said. "This one, we saw the guys, and it was like we'd never taken the 10 years off. That was good for me, and it was that way with the crowd, too. So, this time, when I walked away, I felt, 'You know what? We'll be back. And, good lord willing, we will. It'll be fun."

Life as a stay-at-home dad has been eye-opening, he said.

"The most surprising thing is it's 10-times cooler than what you walked away from. I really thought it was going to be the other way around," he said. "I really thought, 'What the hell am I going to do, and what's going to feed me?' And, I got to tell you, watching those kids, watching the tumblers click, watching them grow up — not in years, but inside — nothing better than that."

That said, Brooks admitted he looks forward to the day when he returns to the music business.

"It's our (job) to prepare our children to fly. And once you see them do that, then, hopefully, the guilt is off your shoulders and there's something you want to do for yourself. And, I got to tell you, getting back out on that road, that's something I want to do for myself."

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