Blake Shelton Ends Every Concert With New ‘Relationships’

Blake Shelton wraps his "Back To The Honky Tonk Tour" this weekend (3/24-25) with shows in Pittsburg and Buffalo, New York, and he's having a blast on the road with Carly Pearce and Jackson Dean.

Blake told us recently that he finds himself making new friends every night on his tour. He said, "By the end of the night, every night, I have relationships. I'll never see these people again, probably, but I have my moments with people in the audience, and it's a blast, and we're in on it. I love what I do."

Shelton said in a statement when he announced the tour last year, "There's nothing like getting out on the road and taking music to the fans. I feel just as excited to step on stage and perform as I did the very first time. I know my tour mates Carly Pearce and Jackson Dean feel the same, and I can't wait for y'all to get to know them better."

He added, "Break out the hats and boots, 'cause we're going back to the honky tonk!"

Shelton is getting closer to his final episode of The Voice. Blake recently toldET Online that when it's time to film the last episode, he will more than likely be emotional. He said, "I don't think it's really gonna hit me [that it's my last season] until the last episode because when you're in it, you're in it."

Shelton added that he had already started reflecting a bit as filming began. He said, "There's been a few moments, especially the blind auditions, it dawned on me: 'That's it! I'm never gonna beg somebody to be on my team again. Never gonna hit this button again.'"

Blake deadpanned that he wasn't getting too sentimental about the whole thing. "I didn't cry or anything. Because I don't cry. I'm a man." Joking aside, he knows there may be some tears during the last episode, "It's probably gonna be an emotional night, that last night. I mean, my God. It's been 23 seasons. 12 years. And I met my wife on there. Everything good that could come from something like that, I maxed it out."

With the release of Chris Young's new song "All Dogs Go To Heaven," depicting the heartbreak of losing your canine best friend, we got to thinking about what some of the best country music songs were about dogs, and we found some good ones.

Admittedly we were surprised Miranda Lambert didn't have a dog song as she, along with her MuttNation foundation, does so very much for our canine friends. Miranda does have a song from 2020 called "How Dare You Love," along with a lyric video that features pictures of dogs. She also performed on the ACM Awards with Chris Stapleton in 2021 for his song about his dog, "Maggie's Song." We did, however, find gems from Carrie Underwood, Stapleton, and more than one from Blake Shelton.

Here are our top five picks for country songs about dogs.

An early song from Carrie telling who she prefers her canine to the dating scene. The chorus sings, "And, I, I close my eyes / And, I kiss that frog / Each time finding / The more boys I meet, the more I love my dog."

Blake won the CMT Music Awards' Video of the Year award for the video for this song in 2018. The song's chorus includes the lyrics, "I'll hang the pictures, you'll hang the stars / You'll pick the paint, I'll pick a guitar / Sing you a song out there with the crickets and the frogs / You'll name the babies, and I'll name the dogs, yeah."

A great song about losing your best friend. The chorus sings, "All dogs go to Heaven / To spend forever running wild and free, off the leash / I know he'll probably go before me / Oh, and that's the day I'm dreadin' / But he'll be waiting on me at the gates / 'Cause all dogs go to Heaven."

Chris wrote this song about losing his family's beloved lab terrier dog.

Blake's version of this song has become a classic and is also the name of his bars in various cities, including Nashville, soon in Las Vegas, and in Oklahoma. The song was originally recorded by George Jones on his 1990 album; You Oughta Be Here with Me. Kenny Rogers also covered it on his 1993 album If Only My Heart Had a Voice. The chorus includes the lyrics, "And the warden sang / Come on somebody / Why don't you run / Ol' Red's itchin' to have a little fun / Get my lantern / Get my gun / Red'll have you treed before the mornin' comes."