Blake Shelton
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Blake Shelton (born June 18, 1976, Ada, Oklahoma, U.S.) is an American singer-songwriter and television personality who first garnered attention as a popular country musician and then found mainstream success as a coach on the TV series The Voice. He appeared on the series from 2011 to 2023.
Early life and career
Shelton is the son of Dick Shelton, a used-car dealer, and Dorothy (née Bristol) Shackleford, the owner of a beauty salon. His parents divorced after he was born, and they both eventually remarried. He began both performing and songwriting while he was still in high school. At one such performance, he caught the attention of established songwriter Mae Boren Axton, who gave him praise and encouragement. Two weeks after Shelton graduated from high school (1994), he relocated to Nashville, where Axton also lived. She got him a job painting houses and introduced him to people in the music industry. In 1997 Shelton came into contact with songwriter and producer Bobby Braddock, who helped Shelton land a recording contract with Giant Records.
In 2001 Shelton recorded the song “Austin,” a love ballad written as a series of answering-machine messages, and Giant released it to country stations. It quickly rose to number one on Billboard’s country singles chart and to 18 on the Hot 100 listing. When Giant Records folded, Warner Brothers picked up Shelton’s contract and in July 2001 released his eponymous debut album; it became the number three country album.
Country music success
Shelton’s second album, The Dreamer (2003), reached the number two spot on the country chart, and the song “The Baby” was the top country single. The more-assured Blake Shelton’s Barn & Grill (2004) contained the charming and humorous “Some Beach.” Pure BS (2007) spawned the hit country-rock songs “This Can’t Be Good” and “The More I Drink.” Startin’ Fires (2008) included the number one country single “She Wouldn’t Be Gone” as well as “Bare Skin Rug,” a duet sung and cowritten with Shelton’s then girlfriend, Miranda Lambert; the couple married in 2011 and divorced in 2015. In 2010 Shelton released two EPs, Hillbilly Bone and All About Tonight. The rollicking title track of Hillbilly Bone, featuring Trace Adkins, was nominated for a Grammy Award for best country collaboration with vocals.
The Voice and “God’s Country”
By 2011 Shelton’s pleasing baritone was a staple on country music radio stations, but he reached a wider audience when The Voice, a reality television show, debuted that fall, with Shelton as one of the four coaches of aspiring singers competing for a record deal. His next two albums, Red River Blue (2011) and Based on a True Story… (2013), were both nominated for a Grammy for best country album. The songs “Honey Bee” (2011) and “Mine Would Be You” (2013) also received Grammy nods.
His popularity continued, with his next three releases—Bringing Back the Sunshine (2014), If I’m Honest (2016), and Texoma Shore (2017)—all topping the country albums chart. The 2019 single “God’s Country” became his biggest hit to date, topping the country chart for seven weeks and garnering a Grammy nomination. The song appeared later that year on the compilation album Fully Loaded: God’s Country.
In May 2021 Shelton released Body Language, which featured “Happy Anyway,” a duet with pop singer Gwen Stefani, a fellow coach on The Voice whom he began dating in 2015. Shortly after the album’s release, the couple married. Shelton left The Voice in 2023 to focus on being a stepfather to Stefani’s three children from a previous relationship.
New record label and other releases
In 2024 Shelton signed a contract with BBR Music Group and released the song “Texas.” He also collaborated with Post Malone and Stefani on the singles “Pour Me a Drink” and “Purple Irises,” respectively. The following year saw the kickoff of his “Friends & Heroes 2025” concert tour and the release of For Recreational Use Only, Shelton’s first album on his new label.
Other TV and film projects
Shelton served as executive producer of a number of television projects, including the series Barmageddon (2022–24) and several Christmas-themed TV movies, beginning with Blake Shelton’s Not So Family Christmas (2012). He also appeared in the films Pitch Perfect 2 and The Ridiculous 6 (both 2015; Shelton played famed gunslinger and frontiersman Wyatt Earp in the latter film), and he lent his voice to characters in The Angry Birds Movie (2016) and UglyDolls (2019).