Line #20 Music/BlakeShelton


1	[[quoteright:321:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/header_6240.jpg]]
2	Born on June 18, 1976 in UsefulNotes/{{Oklahoma\|USA}}, Blake Tollison Shelton is one of the leading males in 21st century country music.
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4	Shelton launched his career in 2001 with the single "Austin" on Giant Records. Although the label quickly closed, the song's fate was unharmed, as parent company Creator/WarnerBrosRecords quickly picked up the song and pushed it to a five-week stay at number 1. Second album ''The Dreamer'' included another number 1 in "The Baby", but the other two singles did not fare as well. He quickly bounced back with the cheeky "Some Beach" in 2004, and saved the flagging ''Pure BS'' album with a re-release that included a cover of Michael Bublé's "Home". ''Startin' Fires'' also included the chart-topper "She Wouldn't Be Gone".
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6	In 2010, Shelton chose to release two extended plays a year. These included ''Hillbilly Bone'' and ''All About Tonight'', the title tracks of which were among his many number ones. Since these did not sell well, he returned to a full album in 2011 with ''Red River Blue'', and ''Based on a True Story...'' in 2013. Shelton has been paired with producer Scott Hendricks since ''Hillbilly Bone'', and has maintained a mostly uninterrupted streak of #1 country hits.
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8	Shelton was married to fellow singer Music/MirandaLambert from 2010 to 2015 and became engaged to pop singer Music/GwenStefani in 2020. They married on July 3, 2021. He is also a vocal coach on the musical competition ''Series/TheVoice''.
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10	!Albums:
11	* ''Blake Shelton'' (2001)
12	* ''The Dreamer'' (2003)
13	* ''Blake Shelton's Barn & Grill'' (2004)
14	* ''Pure BS'' (2007)
15	* ''Startin' Fires'' (2008)
16	* ''Hillbilly Bone'' (2010). His first "Six Pak" EP.
17	* ''All About Tonight'' (2010). Second and final EP.
18	* ''Red River Blue'' (2011)
19	* ''Based on a True Story…'' (2013)
20	* ''Bringing Back the Sunshine'' (2014)
21	* ''If I'm Honest'' (2016)
22	* ''Texoma Shore'' (2017)
23	* ''Body Language'' (2021)
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25	!Tropes present:
26	* AdvertisedExtra: His 2014 single "My Eyes", which credits the almost completely unnoticeable backing vocals from ''Series/TheVoice'' contestant Gwen Sebastian.
27	* AnimatedMusicVideo: "Doing It to Country Songs", a track from ''If I'm Honest'', got one that features FunnyAnimal versions of Blake (a deer) and guest vocalists Music/TheOakRidgeBoys (a wolf, beaver, opossum, and frog).
28	* {{Bowdlerize}}:
29	** "Drink on It" changes "Man, he sounds like such a prick" to "Man, I'd like to bust his lip" for the radio edit.
30	** Similarly, "don't take no shit" became "…no lip" on the radio edit of "Boys 'Round Here".
31	** "She's Got a Way with Words": The line "She put a big F.U. in my future" is either changed to "She put the S-O-L in solo"[[note]]even though "SOL" stands for "Shit outta luck", meaning that the edit merely trades one profanity for another[[/note]] or edited out entirely, while "words like lyin', cheatin' and screwed" becomes "...and truth".
32	* BrokenWinLossStreak:
33	** His late-2016 single "She's Got a Way with Words" broke a 17-song streak of #1 country hits dating back to "Hillbilly Bone" in late 2009-early 2010.
34	** "Turnin' Me On" in late 2018 was not only his lowest Country Airplay peak (#10) since 2007's "The More I Drink", but ''also'' his first song since that one not to enter the Hot 100 (it peaked at #1 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart, which effectively acts as #101-#125). In addition, it's only the second song since 1999 to reach Top 10 on Country Airplay without entering the Hot 100[[note]]the first being "Outta Style" by Aaron Watson in late 2016-early 2017[[/note]], ''and'' it makes 2018 the first year since 2009 in which Blake did not hit #1 at least once[[note]]"Hillbilly Bone" was released in 2009 but did not hit #1 until 2010; "I'll Name the Dogs" hit #1 on the very last week of 2017[[/note]].
35	* ChangingChorus: "Austin" is about a woman [[TelephoneSong calling her ex's number]], and the chorus is his voice message. The message is different each time, but each one ends with "And P.S., if this is Austin, I still love you". The final chorus is when he calls her back and she imitates his voice messages, ending with "Can't you tell, this is Austin, and I still love you"
36	* CountryRap: "Boys 'Round Here" uses mainly spoken-word verses.
37	* DualMeaningChorus: "When Somebody Knows You That Well" has a man trying to hide various things from others (trying to hide intoxication from his dad, sadness from his wife, and his bad nature from God) before realizing that he can't, since those figures all know him so well.
38	* EarlyBirdCameo: A then-unknown Rachel Proctor (co-writer of Martina [=McBride=]'s "Where Would You Be" and a few songs by Music/JessicaSimpson and Creator/JennetteMcCurdy; also had a Top 20 hit in 2004 with "Me and Emily") sang backing vocals on "Ol' Red".
39	* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: His first three albums are a lot more twangy and neo-traditionalist than any of his later output. This is due in part to songwriting legend Bobby Braddock ([[Music/GeorgeJones "He Stopped Loving Her Today"]]) serving as producer and mentor on these albums.
40	* EightiesHair: He had a mullet through the second album.
41	* FakeShemp: Jenee Fleenor handles most of the female vocals in concert, such as the "ooh, let's ride" part on "Boys 'Round Here" (originally done by the Pistol Annies) and the backing vocals on "Home" (originally Miranda Lambert).
42	* IntercourseWithYou: "My Eyes" ("…are the only thing I don't want to take off of you").
43	* LastChorusSlowDown: "Playboys of the Southwestern World", but for only half of the last chorus.
44	* LoveWillLeadYouBack: Performed via answering machine on "Austin".
45	* MassiveMultiplayerCrossover: "Boys 'Round Here" has backing vocals from the writers (Rhett Akins[[note]]father of Music/ThomasRhett[[/note]], Craig Wiseman, and Dallas Davidson), the producer (Scott Hendricks), the Pistol Annies (a group comprising Music/MirandaLambert, Ashley Monroe, and Angaleena Presley), ''and'' [=RaeLynn=], a contestant on ''Series/TheVoice''.
46	** Taken up to eleven on a remix released in June 2013 which has Music/JasonAldean, Music/LukeBryan, [[Music/BrooksAndDunn Ronnie Dunn]], Music/MirandaLambert, Music/RebaMcEntire, Music/BradPaisley, Josh Turner, Music/KeithUrban, and Music/HankWilliamsJr performing the "red, red, red, red, red, red, red, red, redneck" in the opener.
47	* TheMentor: Unlike the other ''The Voice'' judges, some of his contestants ([=RaeLynn=], Cassadee Pope, Danielle Bradbery, and Craig Wayne Boyd) have actually had success in the music industry. He also continues to have relationships with them outside of the show.
48	* MurderBallad: Interestingly, a murder is implied but never elaborated on in "Ol' Red".
49	* NakedPeopleAreFunny: In "Playboys of the Southwestern World", a song about a troublemaking narrator and his friend John Roy:
50	-->But my favorite memory at school that fall\
51	Was the night John Roy came runnin down the hall\
52	Wearin nothin' but cowboy boots and a big sombrero
53	* NotSoDifferentRemark: "Hillbilly Bone", a duet with Music/TraceAdkins, is about finding common ground among people who are fans of country, regardless of their own backgrounds ("We all got a hillbilly bone down deep inside...").
54	* JustForFun/OneMarioLimit: Averted. "My Eyes" features Gwen ''Sebastian'', who is not to be confused with girlfriend and frequent collaborator Music/GwenStefani.
55	* PowerBallad: "Over" has the huge, soaring chorus, rock guitar, and swelling string sections of one.
56	* ShapedLikeItself: "The More I Drink" has "The more I drink, the more I drink."
57	* ShoutOut: "Playboys of the Southwestern World" is clearly informed by Music/VanMorrison's "Brown Eyed Girl".
58	* StealthPun: The title of "Some Beach" is one to the Southern dialectal pronunciation of "Son of a bitch" ("som'bitch").
59	* TakeThat: "Same Ol' Song", a track off his first album, contains a lyric that makes fun of Chris Cagle's "My Love Goes On and On".
60	* TakeThatCritics: His initial response to ongoing criticism by classic country music artists and their supporters about the state of current country music, which stated bluntly that today's fans aren't interested in "their grandpa’s music" (i.e. music by classic artists, including songs recorded years ago) and claimed the critics were "old farts." One of those "old farts" – Ray Price, a legendary singer known equally for his 4/4-shuffle and more pop-oriented Nashville Sound – fired back with his own "Take That, Critics" statement, "This guy sounds like in his own mind that his head is so large no hat ever made will fit him" (along with other comments that spoke about the short-lived careers of several performers who cater to younger audiences without an attempt to draw older fans).
61	* TelephoneSong: "Austin" features a woman calling a man, and getting an answering machine message that mentions her by name.
62	* UncommonTime: "Mine Would Be You" is in 7/4 on the verses.
63	* YouPutTheXInXY: Done in the chorus to "She's Got a Way with Words":
64	-->She put the her in hurt\
65	She put the why in try\
66	She put the S.O.B. in sober\
67	She put the hang in hangover\
68	She put the ex in sex\
69	She put the low in blow\
70	She put a big F.U. in my future\
71	Yeah she's got a way, she's got a way with words

Context Music / BlakeShelton