Garth Brooks reacts after learning his song helped Kelly Clarkson during divorce

Garth Brooks' iconic hit "The Dance" has resonated with millions of people since it was released in 1989, and as we learned earlier this week, one fan who took it to heart was Kelly Clarkson.

The singer and host of "The Kelly Clarkson Show" admitted it had helped her get through her divorce from Brandon Blackstock this year.

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But her reaction has, interestingly, managed to inspire Brooks, who told Entertainment Tonight that hearing how much it meant to her helped validate him as a musician and storyteller.

"The fact that she says it as a fan makes you feel as an artist like, 'Hey, maybe you’re down here doing what you’re supposed to be doing down here," he said, adding that it was awesome to get a compliment like that from "Kelly 'fricken' Clarkson!"

Brooks' wife, Trisha Yearwood, who's also a major music star, added, "I think it's a testament to the power of music because songs mean different things to all of us depending on what we're going through. So that song, 'The Dance,' is probably the song that is most played at people's weddings and funerals. Then when Kelly's going through divorce, it's like ... everybody has their own story and that's the cool thing about music is that you can find a way for it to fit into your own story."

As Clarkson had said, the lyrics, "I'm glad I didn't know / The way it all would end / The way it all would go / Our lives are better left to chance / I could have missed the pain / But I'da had to miss / The dance" were what really got to her.

Noting that she'd been having a hard time nailing down how she really felt as she and Blackstock were parting after seven years of marriage, Clarkson said, she was listening to her playlist when "'The Dance' came on and I was like, 'No, that's the thing. That's it!'"

Yearwood, who was promoting a new music special, "Garth & Trisha Live! A Holiday Concert Event," said that Clarkson isn't the only one who feels like Brooks' music gets her — even if the song isn't his own!

"One of my (favorites) is his song, 'To Make You Feel My Love," she noted. "When he does that song live, I don't care where I am in the building, I will beeline (there). That song, to me, written by Bob Dylan, will always be Garth to me, for me."