Blake Shelton and Elaina Smith Preview ‘For Recreational Use Only’ on ‘Backstage Country’

Get ready for an unforgettable week of awesome country music and behind-the-scenes stories as Blake Shelton is this week’s Backstage Country host alongside Elaina Smith! From May 5-9, the country music superstar will be Smith’s co-host to share exclusive insights into his career, personal experiences, and, of course, his latest album, For Recreational Use Only. 

Smith asked Shelton about his upcoming album, For Recreational Use Only. Shelton admitted that it’s still “a little bit nerve-racking.” He added that for years that he was in the album cycle of releasing a single and timing the release of another one after two months, and stepping away as coach from The Voice to have some time off, releasing a couple of singles, the project's kind of “jacked up along the way.” The “Austin” singer said, "I mean, as long as we're just being honest here. This is my first, ‘No, man, we're gonna get all the pieces together, get the team around me, and we're really gonna make one more serious, hard push at this thing, and see if there's still people out there that want to hear it." 

Shelton revealed feeling relieved when “Texas” came out. He noted how, “It felt like a gift, like, ‘Oh, wow. I get to still do this for a minute.’ At this point, I've been doing it for so long. Anything is just icing on the cake, and I just have learned to take these moments in now and really enjoy them when they happen because so much of my career has just kind of been a blur." 

The singer-songwriter and TV personality is also appreciative of how “rare” what he has, and that he’s just trying to enjoy it as much as he can, and focus on the album launch without a lot of distractions. Shelton chuckled, “I'm having a blast. These conversations with you, things like this, nobody gets to do this. This is a lot of fun and it's a blessing.” 

For Recreational Use Only is scheduled for May 9 release. Listen to Blake Shelton’s music here.