Entertainment Music Country Garth Brooks Says He Wants to Revive Rock Alter Ego Chris Gaines for the First Time in Over 20 Years "I want to do it simply for people who love the Gaines project,” said Brooks, who notched his highest-charting Hot 100 hit as Gaines with 1999's "Lost in You" By Jack Irvin Jack Irvin Jack Irvin has over five years of experience working in digital journalism, and he’s worked at PEOPLE since 2022. Jack started in the industry with internships at Rolling Stone and Entertainment Tonight, and he worked as a freelance writer for publications including Bustle, MTV News, Shondaland, L’Officiel USA, Ladygunn, Flood and PopCrush before joining PEOPLE. In his current role, Jack covers daily music news and has interviewed both up-and-coming and established artists including Dolly Parton, Michelle Branch, Ashanti, Cyndi Lauper, Normani, Carly Rae Jepsen and Coco Jones. People Editorial Guidelines Published on June 8, 2023 03:20PM EDT Close Garth Brooks and Chris Gaines. Photo: Theo Wargo/Getty; SGranitz/WireImage Get ready to get "Lost in You" again. In an interview at Billboard Country Live in Nashville on Wednesday, Garth Brooks revealed he's itching to revive his rock alter ego Chris Gaines — more than 20 years after releasing an album under the persona in 1999. “The Gaines project was a lot of time put in — because it’s not natural, you’re acting on a record — but I want to do it simply for people who love the Gaines project,” the country icon, 61, said at the event while talking about his upcoming projects, according to Billboard. "And selfishly, I love the Chris Gaines record, so I want to do it for me. It challenged me as a vocalist," added Brooks. "So I don’t know when we’re going to get to it, but it’s on the list." Garth Brooks. Trevor George Garth Brooks Recalls Time He Accidentally Showered with Steven Tyler: 'How Many People Get to Say That?' A decade after his debut in 1989, Brooks created the character of Chris Gaines, a fictional, dark-haired Australian rock star, and embodied him for the 1999 album Garth Brooks...in the Life of Chris Gaines. A song from the project, "Lost in You," became Brooks' first top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 5. Originally meant to be released alongside a film about the character's backstory that was never made, the record was structured as a greatest hits project comprised of songs from Gaines' five (nonexistent) previous albums. It peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and went on to become certified two-times platinum by the RIAA for over two million copies sold. Dolly Parton and Garth Brooks on Creating a 'Lasting Friendship' as They Prepare for the 2023 ACMs (Exclusive) Throughout the album's promotional cycle, Brooks played Gaines for a mockumentary-style episode of VH1's Behind the Music. He also hosted Saturday Night Live as himself, but performed as the episode's musical guest dressed as Gaines. Elsewhere in the Billboard Q&A, as reported by Taste of Country, Brooks said he'd like to make and release the five fictional Gaines albums. "The five albums have to come out," he said, joking about the amount of work he'll have to put in. "I don't know if it's because I'm 114 years old, but now everything takes three hours more than it took time to do before." The "Friends in Low Places" singer also revealed he's working on a new duets album with wife Trisha Yearwood as well as another duets album with multiple artists, per Billboard.