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Blake Shelton: A ‘Country Singer First’

Blake Shelton is back with his new song “Texas,” and he’s been promoting it with a series of interviews. He recently did an interview with People and talked about what…

Blake Shelton is on stage holding a red solo cup wearing a green shirt and a brown blazer.
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Blake Shelton is back with his new song "Texas," and he’s been promoting it with a series of interviews. He recently did an interview with People and talked about what life has been like since he left The Voice a couple of years ago.

Blake told the publication, "I really, and I mean really, indulged in not being on a television show anymore. It's just been great for me to get back in the mode of, 'Hey, I'm a country singer first.' That's what I left Ada, Oklahoma when I was a teenager to go be. I never want to get that far away from what I feel I meant to do ever again."

Shelton said that in the last couple of years, especially since he's retired from The Voice, he has been "very mindful of the next thing that I do." He noted that he wanted to make sure he wasn't doing things "because I'm on the hamster wheel anymore."

Blake also said that it was his duet with Post Malone, "Pour Me a Drink," that brought him back and gave him "new energy" because he was "complacent and not in any hurry."

Shelton went on to say "That kid (Malone) came along and asked me to sing on his song with him." He said it "took off and was a big hit this summer," and it reminded him that this may be his last chance to "take a big swing at this thing."

The country superstar says that "if you've ever talked to Post Malone, it's hard to get him to focus sometimes." He did send it to him in a text one time, and Posty wrote back, 'Dude, stop it.' Blake said he "said something super nice" back to him, but he didn't want to "ruin his image by saying that he's a nice guy."

Shelton's new song is what his new record label home, BBR, calls "fresh and addictive" capturing the classic theme of lost love with a twist and nod to George Strait.

Blake told us, "The thing that struck me about ‘Texas’ immediately was how different it sounded for me, and I’m always looking to push myself. I think there’s something really special about this record, and it feels important to me."

He added, "There’s something really special about this record, and it feels important to me. This is the perfect opportunity to come back with something so different, and it easily felt like it should be the first single. It’s connected with what I’ve done but moves forward at the same time, and it’s the perfect start to the next chapter of my career."

Nancy Brooks has been working in the country music industry for almost 30 years. She has interviewed pretty much any country star you can think of. In the late 1990s, she started working with Dolly Parton. And yes, Nancy reports that Parton is as sweet as you would think. She loves her life in country music and has been backstage at every CMA Awards show since the late 1990s. Many of her stories are from her one-on-one interviews. She was there at the beginning of the incredible careers of many music superstars today, including Taylor Swift, Shania Twain, and Blake Shelton, and has interviewed them multiple times throughout the years.