Blake Shelton is known mainly for his high-profile role as a coach on the singing-competition series The Voice and his equally high-profile romantic relationship with fellow Voice coach (and No Doubt singer) Gwen Stefani. He charms talk-show hosts and graces the covers of celebrity gossip magazines, but even as the spotlight shines on him brighter and brighter, Shelton has never lost sight of his original passion as a country music singer and songwriter. Anyone who knows him only for cracking a smile on TV or on a red carpet is missing out on a rich catalog of songs, from one of the genre’s biggest artists of the last decade.
Shelton debuted in 2001 with the single “Austin,” hitting the top of Billboard’s country charts with his very first release. His self-titled first album from the same year didn’t produce any more No. 1 singles, but it did feature “Ol’ Red,” a song previously recorded by both George Jones and Kenny Rogers that has since become a perennial favorite at Shelton concerts and is often cited as the performer’s signature song.
In the years since his debut, Shelton has topped the country charts with singles like “Some Beach,” “All About Tonight,” “Drink On It” and “God Gave Me You.” He’s had so many No. 1 singles that in 2015 he was able to release a 20-song greatest-hits compilation composed solely of chart-toppers. And then, on his 2016 album If I’m Honest, he added two more to that list (“Came Here to Forget” and “A Guy With a Girl”). That album also features a duet between Shelton and Stefani (the ballad “Go Ahead and Break My Heart,” which the two co-wrote and debuted on The Voice), plus a guest appearance from country legends The Oak Ridge Boys.
Shelton was already a huge country star before signing on for The Voice in 2011, but his starring role on the show (along with Maroon 5’s Adam Levine, he’s the only coach to appear on every season) has taken him to a whole new level as a pop-culture phenomenon. He’s branched out musically, making guest appearances on songs by Voice colleagues and pop singers Christina Aguilera and Shakira, and he’s expanded his reach on TV with hosting gigs for the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards and Saturday Night Live.
Through it all, he’s maintained a rigorous schedule of recording and touring with his own music. His latest trek is cheekily titled the Doing It to Country Songs tour (named after a song from If I’m Honest), and will feature former Voice contestants RaeLynn (herself an up-and-coming country singer) and Sundance Head as the opening acts. Shelton coached both singers on the show, and RaeLynn made a guest appearance on Shelton single “Boys ’Round Here.” As a musician, Shelton is about supporting new talent even when the TV cameras are off. His face may be all over TV and magazines, but it’s his voice and his music that will make a lasting impact.
MGM Grand, 7:30 p.m. March 4, starting at $49.50 plus tax and fee. 800.745.3000 Ticketmaster
