Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood take requests for live CBS holiday show

For the holidays, Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood are ready to give fans exactly what they want ... right down to specific songs.

After their April special from their home studio, the Grammy Award-winning country-music-star spouses return there and to CBS with "Garth & Trisha Live!: A Holiday Concert Event" Sunday, Dec. 20. They'll fulfill viewers' requests (made via Brooks' Facebook Live show "Inside Studio G"), aiming to keep the list seasonal - but Yearwood notes that if someone has asked for one of the couple's hits such as "Friends in Low Places" or "She's in Love With the Boy," those aren't out of the question if the lyrics can accommodate holiday twists.

"The blessing of social media is that you can really connect with the public in a way you never could before," Yearwood says. "so if people want to request a song, it's immediate. I believe my being an artist is a calling, so when I don't get to do it, it's hard for me ... so as much people have said that they appreciate our doing these shows every now and then, it's a morale boost for us, too. It gives us a chance to do what we do.

"We're watching our friends in the music industry suffer so much," adds Yearwood. "Crews and band members can't work, and I think music will be one of the last things that comes back, because it's just the nature of how we gather. This gives us the opportunity to stay connected. And we all need it."

Yearwood likes having a readily accessible studio that facilitates her and Brooks' current performances: "There are so many safety scares, it's a 'bubble' for us, a place where we can feel safe and make sure that everything is really locked down. I don't leave the house; I'm really taking this seriously, and my biggest goal is to not get (COVID-19) or give it to somebody else."

Affirming that they're being "measured in what we do and how we do it," Yearwood is "really proud of Garth" in how he's faced the pandemic. "He's kind of a John Wayne," she allows, "so I was thinking, 'He's not gonna wear a mask,' but he's been wonderful in understanding the seriousness of this. I feel good about the way we're going about it."

Brooks and Yearwood's previous CBS special aired soon after their Facebook Live concert last March that drew such viewership, the site crashed multiple times during the show. "These times are tough," Yearwood reflects, "so hopefully with this, we can bring something to people to let them just be able to smile and enjoy and not worry so much for an hour."

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"Garth & Trisha Live!: A Holiday Concert Event"

Airs at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 20, on CBS