Blake Shelton isn’t lying low when the new season of the NBC show The Voice returns to the air in February. Knowing he needs to up his judging game to pick the best contestant that America will love, the entertainer has been dishing on how he’s coming up with the winner this year.

“I am picking polarizing voices,” Blake tells The Boot. “That really worked out well for me last time around. There were a lot of great singers on that show, but there was only one Dia and one Xenia.”

Picking distinctive voices might be a risk for Shelton as America will have to decide on the spot whether they love or hate the voice quality. If the voice is the best of the competition, then there is no doubt that Blake Shelton will have the winning contestant for the year. If America doesn’t like the sound, a contestant will be out a lot sooner.

While the entertainer seems excited about the new season of The Voice, the entertainer is ready to have a little fun at Cee Lo Green’s expenses. Promising to come out during one show wearing a tracksuits and a pair of cowboy boots, Blake Shelton thinks he can convince Christina Aguilera and Adam Levine to do the same sharing a moment where everyone looks like Green.

Source: Gather

It’s hard to imagine Blake Shelton surpassing his chart-topping, award-winning, inroads-paving 2011.

But the way his new year is looking so far, the Oklahoma country music star just might pull it off.

The Ada native will ring in 2012 with a national TV performance Saturday night on “NBC’s New Year’s Eve With Carson Daly,” airing at 9 p.m. on the network home of the hit reality show “The Voice,” which stars Shelton as a celebrity coach and Daly as its host.

Along with Shelton and Daly, the special will feature fellow “The Voice” celebrity coach Cee Lo Green, rapper Drake, British pop star Jessie J, hip-hop band The Roots and crooner Tony Bennett.

Shelton also will close out 2011 closer to home. The Tishomingo resident will play a sold-out show Friday night at WinStar World Casino in Thackerville. The home state concert will be his last before he launches his hotly anticipated “Well Lit & Amplified Tour” tour Jan. 12 in Toledo, Ohio.

On the cover of its Jan. 2 issue, Country Weekly magazine declares 2011 “The Year of Blake!,” while Billboard recently named Shelton one of the top country artists of 2011.

It’s not hard to figure out why. Although the innovative TV vocal competition “The Voice” was ostensibly intended to launch the career of a relative unknown, Shelton became the true breakout star of the surprise hit show.

“I really am having a lot of fun with it. I’m glad I did it. You know, being just a redneck from Oklahoma, I’ve learned the hard way that it’s a different world to step into that Hollywood spotlight and be on television once a week in front of that many people,” Shelton told me in a phone interview back in May during the show’s successful first-season run.

“I think ‘The Voice’ has set a couple of records for viewers, and however they spun it, it’s a lot of people watching. And it’s scary to be in that situation because you know my mouth, I’ve already got myself in trouble a few times just because I’m a redneck and I’m gonna tell you what I think, and that’s never gonna change. I think that’s gonna be an adjustment for the network and producers and for me a little bit.”

But Shelton’s shoot-from-the-hip frankness made him a fan favorite on the series, which introduced the colorful star to a new audience. As Billboard noted, he “may not have crossed over in the traditional sense, but he surely paved some pop culture inroads.”

Other highlights from Shelton’s 2011: He won a fistful of industry awards, including his second straight Country Music Association male vocalist of the year title; notched his fourth and fifth straight No. 1′s on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, continuing a streak dating to 2009; and saw his summer album “Red River Blue” debut atop the country album list and the cross-genre Billboard 200.

Oh yeah, he also wed fellow country star and Tishomingo resident Miranda Lambert in a star-studded ceremony back in May. He recorded his latest No. 1 hit, the earnest ballad “God Gave Me You,” in honor of her.

The chart-topper, penned by contemporary Christian singer Dave Barnes, recently earned a 2012 Grammy nomination for best country song, an award presented to songwriters. Shelton also garnered Grammy nods for best country album for “Red River Blue” and best country solo performance for the album’s first single, “Honey Bee,” a multiweek No. 1 smash that set a record for the fastest-selling digital platinum single for a male country solo artist.

“It’s one thing to be acknowledged by the Grammy voters for one of your songs, but to have two songs nominated, and the album that they’re both off of, is an emotional experience. I may never have something like this in my career again, and I’m darn well going to enjoy it!” Shelton said in a statement.

With the Grammys airing in February, his headlining gig at Wisconsin’s huge Country Thunder festival in July and his plans to set sail on a country music-themed cruise in October, Shelton’s stunning career momentum could continue into 2012, particularly with the refined second season of “The Voice” premiering Feb. 5 after what’s traditionally the biggest TV event of the year.

“We’re gonna make the Super Bowl look small,” Shelton recently told Billboard.
Get ready for another Year of Blake.

Source: News OK

Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton have recorded a duet that will appear on Lambert’s upcoming album, Four the Record, due Nov. 1. “Better in the Long Run” was written by Ashley Monroe (of the Pistol Annies), Charles Kelley (of Lady Antebellum) and Gordie Sampson (“Jesus, Take the Wheel”). Lambert wrote or co-wrote six of the 14 tracks on the album. Other guests include Brandi Carlile, who wrote and provided background vocals for “Same Old You.” Carlile also sang at Lambert and Shelton’s wedding. Lambert’s current single, “Baggage Claim,” features Josh Kelley on background vocals and Steve Winwood on Hammond B-3 organ. A limited edition deluxe version of Four the Record, also due on Nov. 1, will offer a bonus song and a DVD featuring Lambert’s stories behind each song

Source: CMT.com

Blake Shelton has some big dancing shoes to fill … and he takes on that challenge with a lot of country soul. The music superstar has recorded his own version of Kenny Loggins’ iconic hit, ‘Footloose,’ which will appear on the upcoming movie remake’s soundtrack. The Boot has the exclusive premiere of the song below.

“It’s like a lot of stuff from that era — it was rock at the time, but is pretty much what we hear on country radio today. So I knew that we didn’t have to stray that far away from the original,” Blake tells The Boot. “When I open my mouth, what comes out is country. It was going to sound country no matter what, but I didn’t want it to be too different. There are two ways to bring back a song: one is to try to make it your own, and in this instance, you have to remove yourself from it and step into the role of what’s best for the movie and that particular scene. There’s really only one way to approach it when you think of it that way: a fun, uptempo, catchy version just like Kenny Loggins did.”

Blake admits he wasn’t the producers’ original first choice to cut a new version of ‘Footloose.’ He was approached to record another song on the soundtrack, right around the same time he was putting the finishing touches on his own new album, ‘Red River Blue,’ along with taping live episodes of ‘The Voice.’ Given his whirlwind schedule, the singer was at first hesitant, but then said he’d do it if he could score the title track.

“[The producers] had envisioned a female cutting ['Footloose'] this time around,” Blake explains. “So they threw out ideas for some other songs for me, but I finally just campaigned enough and whined about it enough that they said, ‘Why don’t you cut it, and just let them hear your version?’ So I cut it, gave it to them and they wanted to go with mine. I really lucked out.”

Accompanying Blake on the ‘Footloose’ soundtrack are several of his country colleagues, including Zac Brown, Jana Kramer, Whitney Duncan, Gretchen Wilson, Big & Rich, Hunter Hayes and Lissie, among others. Blake believes the artist selection was wise, considering both the song choices and movie plot.

“It’s music that was rock back then but is country now. That’s where those songs would fit in today in the music industry — they sound like the country format,” insists the Oklahoma native. “I think they did the right thing by finding the artists who fit that movie, too — and not just country artists, Cee Lo is on there, too. To do those songs justice, you have to find the right artist for the movie. That’s probably why they went with a lot of country artists. The movie is based in a small town full of country people.”

The movie, a remake of the 1984 cult classic, is about a big city teen who moves to a small town that has outlawed dancing and loud music. It is scheduled to hit theaters nationwide October 14.

Hollywood newcomer Kenny Wormald plays the lead role originated by Kevin Bacon. We put Blake on the spot to see if he knows his own ‘Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon’ — the popular game that guarantees any celebrity is connected to the popular actor by six or less associations.

“I have no idea,” he answers us with a laugh, “but I’m sure it’s not hard … ”

OK, we’ll help him out: Blake recorded ‘Hillbilly Bone’ with Trace Adkins, who was in ‘The Lincoln Lawyer’ with Matthew McConaughey, who starred in ‘EDtv’ alongside Woody Harrelson, who co-starred with Kiefer Sutherland in ‘The Cowboy Way,’ and Kiefer joined Kevin Bacon in the 1990 big-screen thriller, ‘Flatliners.’

But Blake has us beat … and feeling a little stupid, as he responds, “Or you could just say I’m on the new Footloose soundtrack … [laughs]“

You can listen to the song at The Boot.

Source: The Boot.

After a decade toiling away at the microphone without much recognition, Jason Aldean and Blake Shelton are breaking through in a big way.

Two of country’s leading men nabbed their first Country Music Association Awards entertainer of the year nominations Tuesday, upsetting recent trends and leading a popular pack with five nominations apiece. They join previous entertainer winners Brad Paisley, Taylor Swift and Keith Urban in the CMA’s most prestigious category. Paisley and Swift also are up for five awards.

“To be honest, I secretly hoped that I’d get this nomination one day, but I never thought I actually would,” Shelton said in a statement. “After 10 years of watching my friends receive this incredible honor, I got pretty used to being a cheerleader for them, ya know?”

He began receiving more nominations last year, winning two awards at the 2010 CMAs. But his move into television as a coach on NBC’s “The Voice,” an invitation to join the Grand Ole Opry and the success of his single “Honey Bee” — not to mention his marriage to Miranda Lambert — has helped bring him to the forefront of country music.

Like Shelton, Aldean has been slowly gaining awards show attention the last few years after hitting the trifecta of arena tours, platinum albums and radio airplay. But his previous nominations pale compared to the ones he earned Tuesday morning. Along with entertainer of the year, he took nominations in three coveted categories — album of the year for “My Kinda Party,” single of the year for “Don’t You Wanna Stay,” featuring Kelly Clarkson, and male vocalist of the year.

“That’s kind of the cool thing about this whole deal for us,” Aldean said in a phone interview. “A lot of this stuff is first-time stuff for us. I think the general consensus whenever we get nominations, especially the big ones, is that’s pretty special. Not only for me but my whole camp, for everyone involved. We’re all kind of experiencing this stuff for the first time, so I think everybody’s genuinely excited and sometimes surprised. It’s a good feeling to know when you’ve been working all this time and people are taking notice.”

The Band Perry and Jake Owen made the initial announcement of five categories Tuesday on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” Jerrod Niemann and two-time nominee Thompson Square announced the remainder of the nominees later at The Ryman Auditorium in Nashville.

Zac Brown Band and The Band Perry were next with four nominations apiece. Kenny Chesney was nominated for three awards, including male vocalist of the year, but country music’s top touring draw was left out of an entertainer of the year category he won four straight times before essentially taking a year off.

Swift, who won entertainer of the year in 2009, is also up for female vocalist of the year with Carrie Underwood, Martina McBride, Sara Evans and Lambert, who won the honor last year on her 27th birthday.

Lambert’s husband, Shelton, will defend his male vocalist of the year award this year against Paisley, Urban, Aldean and Chesney.

The Band Perry will compete with Lady Antebellum, Rascal Flatts, Zac Brown Band and Little Big Town in the vocal group category. And the sibling trio is nominated with Luke Bryan, Eric Church, Thompson Square and Chris Young in the new artist of the year category.

Coveted album of the year nominations went to Shelton for “All About Tonight,” Aldean for “My Kinda Party,” Swift’s “Speak Now,” Paisley’s “This is Country Music” and “You Get What You Give” by Zac Brown Band.

Paisley and Carrie Underwood will host the award show for a fourth time live Nov. 9 from Nashville on ABC.

“I definitely think over the last couple of years you’ve seen some artists get in there that aren’t the typical ones you’re used to seeing in there,” Aldean said. “That kind of tends to happen every few years. It seems like over the last couple of years you’re starting to see some of that. But it’s still a little surprising.”

Blake Shelton is sweet on tweeting. Almost daily, no matter how busy he is, he whips out his iPhone, punches in messages of 140 characters or less, and—bam!—his close to 600,000 Twitter followers know exactly what’s on his mind.

Mostly, the Oklahoma-born country star makes jokes. “I’m so drunk right now I just tried to change the channel on my aquarium …” reads one of the more printable entries. He taps out an “I’m so drunk …” missive nearly every day, or its equally sozzled cousin, “I’m so hungover. …” Shelton has said that execs at his record label have expressed concern about some of his tweets, but they’re meant to amuse. “It’s just a way to say something ridiculous. Yeah, I drink a lot,” says the singer, whose beverage of choice is Bacardi rum mixed with Crystal Light, “but I’m not drunk every night.”

These days, it’s not just his Twitter followers who appreciate Shelton and his irreverent sense of humor. The country singer gained millions of new fans while coaching on NBC’s hit musical competition The Voice this past spring. His wedding in May to singer Miranda Lambert cemented their status as the latest in a long line of country-music royal couples and landed them on the covers of Us Weekly and People Country. His summer smash, “Honey Bee,” is his fourth consecutive No. 1 single, and his new album, Red River Blue, rocketed to No. 1 on Billboard’s country and top 200 album charts in its first week of release.

It’s been a big year for Shelton, but then so was 2010, when he was named the Country Music Association’s male vocalist of the year and inducted into Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry. “Ten years into my career, it’s starting to bust wide open,” says the 35-year-old, who found success in 2001 with his first album but saw sales dip later in the decade. “I’m glad it’s happening this way, because if it had happened earlier, I don’t know that I would appreciate it like I do now.”

Shelton is discussing his good fortune while lazing on a couch backstage at NBC’s Today show in New York, where he has just wowed the crowd in an outdoor mini-concert. His long legs—he’s between 6-4 and 6-5 even without his alligator-skin cowboy boots—are stretched out in front of him, and he’s sipping from a bottle of water. He is loose-limbed, loose of tongue, and lacking pretensions. “My life has been an open book, for better or for worse,” he says.

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