Hunter Hayes Adorably Freaks Out Over Performing With Garth Brooks: 'I Was in Heaven!'

Just try to watch this interview without smiling.

Hunter Hayes, noted Garth Brooks super-fan, recently teased an upcoming collaboration with his idol -- and at the ACMs Lifting Lives Gala in Texas on Friday, he delivered.

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Hayes took the stage with Brooks and Keith Urban for a performance of the legend's 1990 hit "The Dance." Asked to re-live the moment with ET, Hayes lit up like a Christmas tree.

"I am a massive Garth fan," the 23-year-old gushed. "I've wanted to be like Garth my whole life, I still do, absolutely."

And then Hayes just couldn't. stop. smiling.

"I got to play 'The Dance' with Garth, and then when Garth walks off, Keith rips into this solo at the end of it, and I was in heaven," he beamed. "I was just like, 'This is awesome!'"

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Hayes also revealed details about his initial interaction with the superstar.

"I was asking members of my team for some details about a certain event, and they said, 'Well, why don't you just call Garth?'" he recalled. "I was like, 'That's not gonna happen.' And sure enough, I texted this random number and I was very careful about how I said it - I was like, 'I don't want to intrude on your privacy, or whatever,' and he was like, 'Well, this is Garth. Is this the guy you meant to talk to?' He was so cool! He was so funny, he was totally messing with me the whole time."

It was Brooks who had the idea to team with Hayes on his iconic song.

"It was one of those questions that you get from a legend, where it's like 'Hey, do you know this song called 'The Dance?' and you're just like, 'Um, yes!'"

WATCH: Brett Eldredge Talks New Music and Challenges Hunter Hayes to Name His Album

ET caught up with Hayes at the taping of the ACMs' Superstar Duets special, where he joined forces with Brett Eldredgeon a medley of Marty Robbins songs.

"It's like I gotta one-up Garth!" Eldredge joked. "That's not gonna happen, but I'm gonna try."

ACM Presents: Superstar Duets airs Friday, May 15, at 9 pm ET/PT on CBS.

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Watch Brett Eldredge Talk New Music and Challenge Hunter Hayes to Name His Next Album

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