Brooks and Dunn Explain Break Up

So why did country superstar duo Kik Brooks and Ronnie Dunn decide to split up? The news left a lot of fans and industry insiders in shock. The guys were supposedly best of friends and still had plenty of life left in their careers. Their albums still made top five and they were still a big concert draw. So what happened? Were they tired of the show biz? Tired of each other? Wanting to go solo? It seems everyone but Brooks and Dunn themselves were completely taken by surprise.

To put the mystery to rest, the Boot Scootin' Boogie hit makers made an appearance Wednesday (08/12) on Country Music Television's Invitation Only show. According to Brooks, while in the studio preparing material for the new album they just stopped, looked at each other, and said, "You know what? I think we've just kind of exhausted it."

"We've managed year after year to come up with material for albums, gear up for another tour, ideas and all these things," Brooks said. "We've explored everything we could think of musically."

Brooks said that despite what people may think, he and Dunn are still good friends.

In the 20 years they worked together, they never so much as had a "good fight" or even yelled at each other.

"I don't known how to say it any different than it was just time," Brooks said

They began as two guys forced to worked together and "then ended up more like brothers than anything,"

Brooks, 54 and Dunn, 56, have had more than forty singles on the country music charts which includes chart toppers such as Boot Scootin' Boogie, My Maria and Ain't Nothing 'Bout You. Since entering the country music charts with their 6x platinum 1991 debut release Brand New Man, they've racked up more than 40 singles, 10 albums, 2 greatest hits, a Christmas album, 23 No 1 singles and 22 million grossed in US sales.

But their last CD, 2007's Cowboy Town only made it to No. 4 and failed to produce any hit singles

Earlier this week, the duo announced on their website that they plan to release an album of greatest hits next month that will include a few new songs and then hit the road one last time in 2010 with "The Last Rodeo" tour before parting.

No dates have yet to be announced for their upcoming tour.

The Brooks and Dunn CMT "Invitation Only" episode will air Oct. 30.

Rob Rheubottom