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BLAKE SHELTON\u00a0<\/b><\/h1>\nBLAKE SHELTON\u00a0<\/b><\/h1>\nFor Blake Shelton, celebrity is simply part of the package that comes with being a successful musician. That philosophy has kept him grounded despite massive stardom gained as a mentor on TV\u2019s mega-hit The Voice<\/i>. Shelton\u2019s easy wit and charm have endeared him to millions, even as he\u2019s endured his share of slings and arrows. \u201cI learned a long time ago if I\u2019m going to do this, I have to be comfortable in the public eye,\u201d says Shelton. \u201cThere will always be those who think I\u2019m stupid and tasteless, and others who think I\u2019m a genius.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Oklahoma native has released 12 No. 1 hits and six gold and platinum albums, and scored multiple Grammy nominations. He\u2019s been chosen the Country Music Association\u2019s Male Vocalist of the Year three times, won Entertainer of the Year in 2012, and landed the association\u2019s Song of the Year honor for \u201cOver You,\u201d which he wrote with his wife, country star Miranda Lambert.<\/p>\n
Shelton\u2019s latest, Based on a True Story\u2026<\/i>, continues that trajectory. Beer, jukeboxes, pretty girls and pickup trucks abound\u2014fitted to big hooks, an outsized Nashville spirit, and a few newfangled sonic embellishments incorporated by producer Scott Hendricks. Shelton makes no apologies for lifting touches from noncountry genres. \u201cInstruments identified as country\u2014fiddle, banjo, steel guitar\u2014will always be part of my music,\u201d he says. \u201cBut I\u2019m having fun incorporating new things. There\u2019s not a rulebook for making music\u2014for any genre. Making this album was the most artistically satisfying experience I\u2019ve ever had.\u201d<\/p>\n
Did you have a goal for the new album?<\/b><\/p>\n
The only time I made an album with a specific direction in mind was my third. I wanted it to be stuff you\u2019d hear on a jukebox in some country bar\u2014drinking, smoking-type songs. With this one I just wanted to record songs I was pumped about. Lots of artists talk about why they made a certain album, but I just love music. It\u2019s that simple. Growing up, my influences were all over the map. I still get excited about music that\u2019s\u00a0all over the map.<\/p>\n
Did your work on The Voice<\/i> affect the production of\u00a0 the record?<\/b><\/p>\n
I tend to digest and regurgitate everything I hear. It goes into my brain and comes out my mouth in a different way. I\u2019ve learned a lot about different recording techniques, things that had never been part of my world. Auto-Tune is something nobody wants to talk about in Nashville. Everybody wants to pretend no one does it. But Auto-Tune can be like herbs and spices. For \u201cSmall Town Big Time,\u201d I told Scott I wanted part of it to sound like T-Pain. I wanted it to sound so \u201cAuto-Tuned\u201d it\u2019s ridiculous for country, but probably not ridiculous enough for pop. There\u2019s no reason we can\u2019t explore and experiment with things like that in country music.<\/p>\n
Are you hands-on in the studio?<\/b><\/p>\n
I\u2019ve gotten more involved. I\u2019ve done so much work as a guitar player, it\u2019s been hard to let go of that. Back when I recorded \u201cHome\u201d I was adamant about playing every guitar part. It took forever, but I wanted it to be all me. Now that I\u2019m older I\u2019m not quite so full of myself. Scott will say, \u201cBlake, let\u2019s get someone in here who\u2019s faster and better than you are.\u201d (laughs)<\/i> I understand that now. I want my records to sound as good as they possibly can.<\/p>\n
How do you select songs?<\/b><\/p>\n
I live with a potential song for a long time\u2014whether it\u2019s something I\u2019ve written or a song by someone else. When I make a record, I think, \u201cOK, I\u2019m excited about this now, but how will I feel about it next month?\u201d After a while I can get sick of a song just like anybody else. But if you live with something for two or three years and don\u2019t get tired of it, that\u2019s a good sign. If you\u2019re going to tour and sing those songs for the rest of your life, you better make sure they\u2019re things you\u2019ll never get tired of.<\/p>\n
Is songwriting still important?<\/b><\/p>\n
The busier I\u2019ve gotten the less writing I\u2019ve been able to do. But that makes the songs even more important to me when I do write. That was true with \u201cOver You,\u201d the song I wrote with Miranda. Careerwise, it\u2019s probably the most satisfying thing that\u2019s happened to me\u2014writing that, and winning Song of the Year with my wife.<\/p>\n
Do you have a favorite guitar?<\/b><\/p>\n
Miranda bought me a 1976 Guild acoustic that I really love. I don\u2019t play it much at home, though, because I\u2019m one of those guys who will grab a guitar and walk through the house banging it on doors and chairs. I generally bring it out only when I want to record something. Probably my favorite guitar is the very first one I bought. I watched Garth Brooks\u2019 first television special years ago, and he was playing a black Takamine acoustic. I roofed houses for a summer when I was 16 to save the money to buy that same model. I still have it. I love that guitar.<\/p>\n
Do you get into staging performances on The Voice<\/i>?<\/b><\/p>\n
Adam [Levine] and I are both involved. As coaches, we\u2019re constantly butting heads with the producers. When you\u2019re an artist, you want to play up your strengths as a vocalist and a musician. Television producers want things to look flashy and over-the-top, so people will stay tuned. For them, it\u2019s boring to have someone just stand there and sing and not have crazy stuff going on<\/p>\n
behind them. But as a musician and artist, you don\u2019t want anything to take away from what people are hearing.<\/p>\n
How does that extend to your live shows?<\/b><\/p>\n
My biggest concern is to have a cool entrance, an unveiling. I love that moment when you first see the crowd, you\u2019re sort of being introduced to one another. That\u2019s your first impression\u2014and it needs to be as big a deal. That\u2019s the moment you want to seem<\/i> like a star. By the end of the night everyone will see I\u2019m just a regular douche bag, but at least for those couple of moments they can think, \u201cMan, he seems cool.\u201d<\/p>\n
Is country music in a good place?<\/b><\/p>\n
That\u2019s always controversial\u2014what\u2019s \u201ccountry\u201d and what isn\u2019t. Every generation pushes the boundaries, and they\u2019ve all had their critics for doing that. I remember when Garth was having his success\u2014there were all these critics and haters out there. Now he seems like one of the more traditional guys. My generation is pushing the boundaries even further. I know there are critics who say I\u2019m not country. They can kiss my ass. This is my generation\u2019s time to make our brand of country music. In a music industry that\u2019s hurting, country music is holding its own. I\u2019m proud to be a part of that. But we always have to find a way to keep our music young and fresh, and not just do the same thing over and over again. We\u2019re not doing anybody any favors by doing that.<\/p>\n
Where do you see yourself in five years?<\/b><\/p>\n
I want to do less touring than I\u2019ve been doing. I\u2019m at a point in my career where it\u2019s time to start saying no to some things. Hopefully I\u2019ll use that time to do more writing. I feel like there are some songs left in me that I need to get out.<\/p>\n
\u2013Russell Hall<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BLAKE SHELTON\u00a0 Country\u2019s fiercely independent superstar revels in pushing boundaries \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 For Blake Shelton, celebrity is simply part of the package that comes with being a successful musician. That philosophy has kept him grounded despite massive stardom gained as a mentor on TV\u2019s mega-hit The Voice. Shelton\u2019s easy wit and charm have endeared him to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[23,7],"tags":[2093,6978],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10743"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10743"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10743\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10748,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10743\/revisions\/10748"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10743"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10743"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10743"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}