• ABOUT
    • Contact
    • The Team
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Events
    • FAQ
    • Use & Privacy Policy
  • ADVERTISE
  • ROWFAX
  • THE SPORTS CREDENTIAL
  • JOB LISTINGS
MusicRow.com
  • CALENDARS
    • Album/EP Releases
    • Single/Track Releases
    • Industry Events
  • OBITS
  • CHARTS
    • Radio Chart (Current)
    • Radio Chart (Archives)
    • No. 1 Challenge Coin
    • Songwriter Chart (Current)
    • Songwriter Chart (Archives)
  • REVIEWS
  • MY STORY
  • NEWSLETTER
    • Newsletter (Current)
    • SIGN UP (FREE!)
    • Newsletter (Archives)
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • STORE
  • Search
  • Menu Menu

On The Cover – Blake Shelton (April/May 2015)

April 27, 2015/by contributor

OTC-Post-AprMay2015-GraphicBlake Shelton is many things. He is the hugely popular coach on the top-rated television music competition show The Voice, where singers he’s mentored have won four of the seven seasons. He is the reigning CMA Male Vocalist of the Year. He’s the charismatic live entertainer who performs to packed houses in arenas, amphitheaters and stadiums across the country. He’s husband to country superstar Miranda Lambert, together inspiring endless public fascination as country’s “Power Couple.”

But the one overriding facet of who Blake Shelton is led him down a path that made all these other designations possible. Blake Shelton is a Country. Music. Singer.

Shelton is in a league of his own among contemporary country artists as a top-shelf interpreter of true country music songs. Shelton’s 11th studio album, Bringing Back The Sunshine, marks a return to showcasing that talent with an album that sonically represents the best contemporary country has to offer, yet feels like the classic cuts served up by the heroes that inspired Shelton as young boy in Ada, Okla. some 30 years ago. It’s a journey that includes a CMA Entertainer of the Year trophy, three RIAA certified Platinum albums, five RIAA certified Gold albums, 19 total No. 1 country singles, and a five-year run as reigning CMA Male Vocalist of the Year.

On Bringing Back The Sunshine, which debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top 200 Album chart, longtime producer and collaborator Scott Hendricks created an album that highlights what is arguably the most powerful vocals Blake Shelton has ever recorded. “If there’s one thing that is important to me, no matter what, it’s singing,” says Shelton. “I’m a fan of a lot of artists, but I always gravitate to the singers, and that’s why I always looked up to Earl Thomas Conley, Travis Tritt, Ronnie Milsap, Conway Twitty. These guys never went through the motions when it came to laying down a vocal.

“That’s my job, to be the best singer I can be when I get in the studio. I don’t ever want someone to hear me on the radio and say ‘yeah, he’s singing okay, but where’s the heart?’ I want it all to be in there.”

Thirteen years since his first single “Austin” hit the top of the country radio charts, Shelton now holds 19 No. 1 singles to his credit, recently breaking his own record for most consecutive No. 1s at country radio. With 14 consecutive No. 1 singles, including five from his last album alone, Shelton has the most No. 1s in a row on the country radio charts by any artist.

So if the more seasoned and savvy TV era Blake could tell the driven 17-year-old Blake that headed off to Nashville anything, “I’d tell him just to relax and stop worrying so much,” he says. “I knew the one thing that I wanted to do with my life was country music, it worried me to death. I was never one of those people who was like, ‘I’ll give it a shot for a while and then move on.’ It never was that for me, it was ‘How am I gonna get this done, how am I gonna get my foot in the door?’ It wasn’t until the last three or four years that I finally started taking a deep breath and going, ‘Man, I get to be a country singer, and it’s OK.’ I get to do it now. I don’t care at what level, as long as I get to be country singer, that’s all I ever wanted to do.”

Be sure to pick up your copy of the print magazine here, or receive your free copy with a yearly subscription.

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
contributor
contributor
contributor
Latest posts by contributor (see all)
  • BREAKING: Radio Legend Bob Kingsley Dies - October 17, 2019
  • The Producer’s Chair: Corey Crowder - November 22, 2017
  • The Producer’s Chair: Frank Liddell - October 26, 2017
Share this entry
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share by Mail
https://musicrow.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/OTC-Post-AprMay2015-Graphic.jpg 386 300 contributor https://musicrow.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/MusicRow-header-logo-Mar19B.png contributor2015-04-27 11:08:562015-04-27 11:08:56On The Cover – Blake Shelton (April/May 2015)
0 replies

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

RECENT NEWS

  • ‘Darius & Friends’ Surpasses $3.6 Million Raised For St. Jude June 7, 2023
  • Josh Abbott Band Signs With Make Wake Artists & Deep Roots Management June 7, 2023
  • In Photos: Zach Bryan, Tyler Childers Sell Out Railbird Music Festival In Kentucky June 7, 2023
  • SOLID’S Music Row Madness Fundraiser Raises $18K For Solid Shares Partners June 7, 2023
  • My Music Row Story: Endurance Music Group’s Michael Martin June 7, 2023
  • George Strait Kicks Off Summer With Two Record-Setting Stadium Shows June 7, 2023
  • 2023 Gulf Coast Jam Celebrates Another Successful Sold-Out Event June 7, 2023
  • Luke Combs, Ray Fulcher Among NMPA Top Gold & Platinum Songwriters For 1st Quarter Of 2023 June 7, 2023
  • Bobby Karl Works The Room: Cidny Bullens Celebrates ‘TransElectric’ Book June 7, 2023
  • Lindsay Ell Signs With Concord Music Publishing June 7, 2023
  • Jeff Skaggs Appointed As Head Of Milk & Honey Nashville [Exclusive] June 7, 2023
  • Barbara Mandrell To Receive 2023 CRB Artist Career Achievement Award June 6, 2023
  • Endurance Music Group Expands Team With Steven Singer & Adam Gruss June 6, 2023
  • Jonas Group Entertainment Opens Office On Music Row June 6, 2023
  • Jake Owen Plots ‘Loose Cannon Tour’ For Fall June 6, 2023

Like Us on Facebook

Follow Us on Twitter

Tweets by MusicRow
© 2023 Music Row Enterprises, LLC – All rights reserved.
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
Scroll to top