In September 2018, country music superstar Garth Brooks booted America’s Got Talent finalist Michael Ketterer from joining him during his October Notre Dame Stadium performance. As fans can recall, Brooks penned the song “The Courage to Love” for Ketterer to perform during the show’s Season 13 finale. In the end, he placed fifth in the reality competition. Garth Brooks’ AGT connection was initially strong with the singer, but quickly extinguished when Ketterer was arrested at a Los Angeles hotel for a domestic violence situation involving his wife.
“Let’s address the Michael Ketterer situation. I called him this weekend. We talked, and we decided that it was better that he not appear at Notre Dame and perform there. That family, they will figure it out and they will find it within themselves,” Brooks shared with fans via a Inside Studio G Facebook Live broadcast. “But Michael Ketterer will not be at Notre Dame.”
Ultimately, Ketterer did not face felony charges stemming from the domestic violence allegations that tanked his opportunity with the country music star.
Watch Michael Ketterer perform Garth Brooks’ AGT tune below!
“The Courage to Love” Lyrics
You’re gonna give me an answer to what’s the measure of a man
From the softness of his heart to the hardness of his hand
Its always been the same old question ever since this world began
But a man can’t learn a lesson if he don’t understand
Any fool can pull the trigger, anyone can start a fight
But to love is so much bigger, it goes beyond black or white
And if we’re gonna give our children a future that is bright
Then the truth must be the answer, and love must be the light
The hardest thing you’ll ever do is tell someone you’re sorry
You’ll never be the bravest man if you can’t admit to sin
In what you do, in what you say
The strength it’s gonna take to stay
Comes from somewhere high up above
That’s the courage to love
If you’re gonna give yourself somebody else
Then you gotta love someone more than yourself
The hardest thing you’ll ever do is tell someone you’re sorry
You’ll never be the bravest man if you can’t admit to sin
In what you do, in what you say
All the pain to wash away
Comes from somewhere high up above
It’s the power, it’s the courage
Oh it’s beautiful!
It’s the courage to love
As for the fate of “The Courage to Love,” we will have to see in Brooks takes it from a demo written for someone else to an official recording or possible single. When asked about the song following Ketterer arrest, the star replied, “I’ll tell you what, we’ll just stick it in the system. What we should do, how do we get it to the people? Here’s the deal: it’s a demo. It’s just something you write for somebody else. So it doesn’t even sound like me, it doesn’t sound like me at all. But we can fix this demo and get it out because the main thing is the song and its message.”
