Blake Shelton

Blake Tollison Shelton was born on June 18, 1976, in Ada, Oklahoma, to Dorothy Ann (née Byrd) (b. 1936), a beauty salon owner, and Richard Lee "Dick" Shelton (1940–2012), a car salesman. Shelton began singing at an early age and by the age of 12, he was taught how to play the guitar by his uncle. By age 15, he had written his first song. By age 16, he had received a Denbo Diamond Award in his home state. After graduating from high school at 17, he moved to Nashville, Tennessee, to pursue a singing career. There, he got a job at a music publishing company, and, in 1997, he was aided by Bobby Braddock to obtain a production contract with Sony Music. ==Music career==

2001–2006: Beginnings Some years later in Nashville, he signed to Giant Records. In 2001, he was slated to release a song entitled "I Wanna Talk About Me" as a single, but the staff at the label considered the song unsuitable for a lead-off single, and the song was eventually recorded by Toby Keith, whose version was a number-one single. The album received a positive review from Maria Konicki Dinoia of Allmusic, who called "Austin" "tremendously imaginative" and praised Shelton for including songs written by Braddock and Conley. The album contains the singles "Neon Light", "Lonely Tonight" (a duet with fellow country singer Ashley Monroe), "Sangria", and "Gonna". All four singles have reached number one on the Country Airplay chart. On November 13, 2014, Shelton was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame for his achievements in the music industry and for the generous work he has done for his home state. Shelton later called the recognition "unbelievable" and "an honor". In season seven of The Voice, Craig Wayne Boyd was crowned the winner, scoring Shelton his record fourth victory. Shelton recorded a cover of Bob Dylan's 1974 hit "Forever Young" for the soundtrack of Max, which was released in the US on June 26, 2015. Shelton's second greatest-hits album, Reloaded: 20 Number 1 Hits, was released on October 23, 2015. 2016–2018: ''If I'm Honest and Texoma Shore'' opening ceremony Shelton's 10th studio album, ''If I'm Honest'', was released in May 2016. The album's first single "Came Here to Forget" was released to country radio on March 8, 2016. On November 9, 2015, Nickelodeon announced that Shelton would be the host of the 2016 Kids' Choice Awards. On April 8, 2016, a second single from the album, "Savior's Shadow", was released. It was released to Christian radio on April 12, 2016. In June 2016, Shelton released "She's Got a Way with Words" as the album's third overall single and second promoted country single. The song peaked at number seven on the Country Airplay chart, ending Shelton's streak of 17 consecutive number-one singles. "A Guy with a Girl", the album's fourth single, and third promoted country single, reached the top of the charts in early January, earning Shelton his 23rd career chart-topper. The album's 10th track "Friends" is the theme song of The Angry Birds Movie, which was released in the US on May 20, 2016. Shelton also voices the character of Earl, a cowboy pig. In June 2016, Shelton celebrated the grand opening of his exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. The exhibit, titled "Blake Shelton: Based on a True Story", traces Shelton's career path and achievements, encompassing his humble beginnings in Oklahoma, his Nashville origins, and his eventual path toward mainstream success and recognition through his role as a coach on The Voice. In September 2016, Shelton was selected as one of 30 artists to perform on "Forever Country", a mash-up track of "Take Me Home, Country Roads", "On the Road Again", and "I Will Always Love You" celebrating 50 years of the CMA Awards. The single debuted at number one on Billboard's Hot Country Songs. In season 11 of The Voice, Sundance Head was crowned the winner, giving Shelton his record-extending fifth victory on the show. In March 2017, Shelton's wax figure was unveiled for Madame Tussauds Nashville and in April Shelton was honored at the Oklahoma Creativity Ambassadors Gala, being one of eight recipients to receive the Creativity Ambassador medallion. In season 13 of The Voice, Chloe Kohanski, who was originally on Miley Cyrus's team, was crowned the winner, giving Shelton his record-extending sixth victory on the show. On September 11, 2017, Shelton released "I'll Name the Dogs" as the lead-off single from his 11th studio album. The album, Texoma Shore, was released on November 3, 2017. The album's second single, "I Lived It", released to country radio on January 29, 2018. 2019–2023: ''Fully Loaded: God's Country and Body Language'' In 2019, Shelton released a compilation album titled ''Fully Loaded: God's Country''. The album was preceded by the single "God's Country", which peaked at number one on Hot Country Songs in mid-2019. Also released from the album was "Hell Right", a second duet with Adkins, as well as "Nobody but You", a collaboration with partner Gwen Stefani. In 2020, Todd Tilghman was announced the winner for the 18th season of The Voice, giving Shelton his seventh victory in the series. In 2021, season 20, his finalist Cam Anthony was named the winner, securing Shelton his eighth win as coach. Shelton released his 12th studio album, Body Language, on May 21, 2021. The album's release was preceded by the singles "Happy Anywhere" and "Minimum Wage". On September 7, 2022, Shelton announced his 18-date Back to the Honky Tonk Tour. Carly Pearce and Jackson Dean were to join Shelton as opening acts for the tour. On October 4, 2022, Shelton sold the ownership of his commercially released master recordings from 2001–2019 to Influence Media Partners. In December 2022, on season 22 of The Voice, his finalist Bryce Leatherwood was named the winner, securing Shelton his ninth and final win as coach before he retired from the show after the following season. 2024–present: New music and label change Shelton appears on wife Gwen Stefani's song, "Purple Irises", which was released in February 2024. In June 2024, Shelton appeared on Post Malone's album F-1 Trillion on the song "Pour Me a Drink". After being with Warner Music Nashville since the beginning of his career, in September 2024, Shelton signed with BMG/BBR Music Group and Wheelhouse Records. On November 15, 2024, Shelton released a new single, "Texas". In March 2025, Shelton announced his 13th album, For Recreational Use Only, which was released on May 9, 2025, and featured two promotional singles, "Let Him in Anyway" and "Stay Country or Die Tryin'", the latter of which was released as the album's second single and became Shelton's 30th number one country single in January 2026, giving him the second most number one country singles on that chart behind Kenny Chesney's 33. "Let Him in Anyway" was released as the album's third single in February 2026. ==Other ventures==

Shelton is a partner, along with Ryman Hospitality Properties (the owners of the Grand Ole Opry), in a small chain of restaurants and entertainment complexes called Ole Red. The first Ole Red opened in Shelton's hometown of Tishomingo, Oklahoma, in September 2017. A Nashville location opened in May 2018. A third location in Gatlinburg opened in March 2019. A fourth location in Orlando, Florida, opened in May 2020. A smaller location opened inside Nashville International Airport in 2022, and a sixth location opened on the Las Vegas Strip in 2024. ==Legacy==

The New York Times described Shelton as "the most important and visible ambassador from Nashville to the American mainstream". Rolling Stone referred to him as "one of country music's biggest stars over the past decade." In Backstory: Blake Shelton, a GAC television special broadcast in 2012, country stars Miranda Lambert stated she "respect[s] him so much as a vocalist,", while Trace Adkins said he "is going to be as relevant in this business as he wants to be for as long as he wants to be." Country Music Hall of Fame member Brenda Lee has commended both his vocals and songwriting. Singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow credits Shelton with inspiring her musically. Shelton was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 2014, and made a member of the Grand Ole Opry in 2010. ==Achievements==

Shelton has been the recipient of 10 Country Music Association Awards, six Academy of Country Music Awards, one CMT Artist of the Year award, and 10 CMT Music Awards. He has also received eight American Country Awards, seven People's Choice Awards, three American Music Awards, one Billboard Music Award, and one iHeartRadio Music Award, among others. Shelton has won 27 BMI awards and 27 ASCAP awards. He was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry in 2010, for his many accomplishments in country music, and into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 2014, attaining the highest honor one can receive from the state. In April 2013, Shelton was awarded the prestigious Gene Weed Special Achievement Award from the Academy of Country Music for his unprecedented, unique and outstanding individual achievement in country music and television. For his work on The Voice as a television personality, Shelton received the NATPE Reality Breakthrough Award for Best Reality Personality in 2017. Shelton has garnered nine Grammy nominations throughout his career, including nominations for Best Country Album, Best Country Solo Performance, and Best Music Film. As one of the most successful country artists today, Shelton has sold over 10 million records worldwide, and , has sold in excess of 30 million singles, while having generated a total of 1.7 billion streams worldwide. Shelton has also amassed a tremendous commercial impact on the country music industry. His debut single "Austin", off his 2001 Platinum-selling self-titled album, tied the record set by Billy Ray Cyrus in 1992, staying atop the country charts for five weeks, and setting the mark for an artist's debut single in the Broadcast Data Systems era. The success of "Austin" also led Shelton to claim the No. 1 position on both Billboard's Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart and Top Country Singles Sales chart, making him the first debut male country artist to own the top spot on both charts simultaneously. Later, in 2010, Shelton's first single, "Honey Bee", from his sixth studio album Red River Blue, set a new record for the most first-week downloads by a male country singer. As a result of the downloads, the song debuted at number thirteen on the Billboard Hot 100 chart dated for the week ending April 23, 2011. This entry made Shelton the highest-debuting male country artist on the Hot 100 since Garth Brooks (recording as Chris Gaines) debuted at number five in September 1999. As a result of the song's massive commercial success, Shelton also claimed the record for the fastest rising single ever to sell over 500,000 digital copies by a male country soloist. In 2013, Shelton's eighth album, Based on a True Story..., spawned the hit "Doin' What She Likes", which broke the record previously set by Brad Paisley in 2009 for the most consecutive No. 1 singles in the Country Airplay chart's 24-year history, since it was first tracked by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems in January 1990. , Shelton remains one of only five country artists to have achieved No. 1 status on the Billboard Artist 100 chart, having charted all 156 weeks the chart has existed. The CMA Awards recognized Shelton, in addition to George Strait and Vince Gill, as the record holders for the most Male Vocalist of the Year wins, as all three have each garnered five victories. In January 2017, he became the first country artist to win People's Choice Awards' Favorite Album. On November 14, 2017, Shelton became the first country artist to be named People Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive, and is the second musician to receive the honor (the first being fellow The Voice coach Adam Levine). In 2016, Billboard released their list of "Greatest of All Time Country Artists" and recognized Shelton on the chart, ranking him at No. 50. Shelton also charted on Billboard's list of "Greatest of All Time Country Albums" and "Greatest of All Time Country Songs" with Based on a True Story... taking the position of No. 51 on the chart and "God Gave Me You" ranking at No. 80 on the chart, respectively. In 2019, Billboard released their list of decade-end "Top Country Albums" and recognized Shelton on the chart, ranking him at No. 14 for Based on a True Story..., No. 24 for Reloaded: 20#1 Hits, No. 49 for ''If I'm Honest, and No. 50 for Red River Blue''. Shelton also charted on Billboard's decade-end list of "Top Country Songs" with "God Gave Me You" ranking at No. 19 on the chart, "Honey Bee" ranking at No. 23, and "God's Country" taking the position of No. 26 on the chart. Shelton also charted on Billboard's decade-end list of "Top Billboard 200 Albums" with Based on a True Story... ranking at No. 51. Shelton ended 2019 on the Hot Country Songs chart with 52 entries, the most of any country artist this decade. At the 2020 CMT Music Awards, he won for best collaborative video for his duet "Nobody But You" with Gwen Stefani. ==Personal life==

Shelton married his longtime girlfriend Kaynette Gern on November 17, 2003. In 2005, Shelton met singer Miranda Lambert at the CMT's 100 Greatest Duets Concert. Blake and Lambert wrote about Richie in Lambert's song, "Over You". The song was named CMA Song of the Year for 2012. It was also named Single Record and Song of the Year at the 2013 Academy of Country Music Awards. On July 20, 2015, Shelton and Lambert announced their divorce. The couple released a statement, "This is not the future we envisioned and it is with heavy heart that we move forward separately. We are real people, with real lives, with real family, friends and colleagues. Therefore, we kindly ask for privacy and compassion concerning this very personal matter." Their divorce was finalized later that same day. Stefani and Shelton have collaborated on music numerous times since becoming a couple. In 2015, the musicians co-wrote the song "Go Ahead and Break My Heart" as they navigated the beginning of their relationship. The duet was featured on Shelton's 2016 album, ''If I'm Honest''. They also collaborated on the song "You Make It Feel Like Christmas," featured on Stefani's 2017 holiday album of the same name. In a January 2020 interview with Gayle King, Shelton said about Stefani: "You think you know what love is, and for me, I didn't until she came into my life." On October 27, 2020, Shelton and Stefani announced their engagement after five years of dating. The couple later shared more details, including that Shelton proposed to Stefani in front of her three children and other family members at a chapel on his property in Oklahoma. They married in that same chapel on July 3, 2021. Through his marriage to Stefani, Shelton has three stepsons. In an interview with the Country Radio Seminar in March 2022, Shelton spoke positively about his role as a stepfather, stating, "Every day I've fallen in love with the boys as much as I do with Gwen." In 2015, Forbes estimated Shelton's annual income at $28.5 million. On June 6, 2017, HLN aired a special called Our Journeys Home, in which Shelton and HLN Morning Express host Robin Meade were revealed to be fourth cousins. On October 12, 2019, Shelton officiated at the wedding of Trace Adkins and Canadian actress Victoria Pratt in New Orleans, Louisiana. Philanthropy In October 2013, Shelton donated $20,000 to the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation following a concert in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The donation was used to support the department's outdoor education programs. After the donation, Shelton said, "The Wildlife Department's youth education efforts are an important way to get kids back outdoors." In September 2016, he donated $600,000 to the Jimmy Everest Center, a University of Oklahoma College of Medicine hospital for children with blood cancer and blood disorders. This donation followed a pair of Shelton's concerts in Oklahoma City, which generated the funds that he donated. Shelton claims he has a personal tie to the hospital as his cousin's daughter Aspen was diagnosed with cancer and treated at the facility. He created the Blake Shelton Cancer Research Program at that same hospital. In February 2018, Shelton donated $50,000 to his hometown of Tishomingo, Oklahoma. He raised the money from ticket sales at his restaurant Ole Red. On March 13, 2019, he performed a private concert at his Ole Red Gatlinburg location, celebrating its weeklong grand opening. Shelton earned $29,214 from ticket sales, and along with $25,000 from Ryman Hospitality Properties, donated the sum of $54,214 to the Gatlinburg-Pittman High School's music programs. For a short time at the end of March 2020 into the beginning of April 2020, Shelton reduced the price of his merchandise and donated a portion of his sales to the MusiCares COVID-19 relief fund. In April 2020, Shelton donated $150,000 to the "Give from Home Day" fundraiser, a partnership between Oklahoma City ABC affiliate news station KOCO 5 and the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma with the goal to help feed the hungry during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. ==Discography==

;Studio albums • Blake Shelton (2001) • The Dreamer (2003) • ''Blake Shelton's Barn & Grill'' (2004) • Pure BS (2007) • ''Startin' Fires'' (2008) • Red River Blue (2011) • ''Cheers, It's Christmas'' (2012) • Based on a True Story... (2013) • Bringing Back the Sunshine (2014) • ''If I'm Honest'' (2016) • Texoma Shore (2017) • ''Fully Loaded: God's Country'' (2019) • Body Language (2021) • For Recreational Use Only (2025) ==Tours==

Headlining • Barn and Grill Tour (2005) • Hillbilly Bone Tour (2010) • All About Tonight Tour (2011) • Well Lit & Amplified Tour (2012) • Ten Times Crazier Tour (2013–2015) • Blake Shelton 2016 Tour (2016) • Doing It To Country Songs Tour (2017) • Country Music Freaks Tour (2018) • Friends and Heroes Tour (2019–2020) • Back To The Honky Tonk Tour (2023) Supporting • Shock'n Y'all Tour (2002, with Toby Keith) • Here's to You Tour (2005, with Rascal Flatts) • Me and My Gang Tour (2006, with Rascal Flatts) • H2O II: Wetter and Wilder World Tour (2011, with Brad Paisley) ==Filmography==

== Record as coach on The Voice ==

Shelton was a coach on NBC's The Voice from its inception in 2011 until the twenty-third season in 2023. Shelton had been the most successful coach, having brought at least one artist from his team (for a total of 38) to the finale in almost every season (except season five), nine of which went on to win the season. == References ==