This Week’s Backstage Country Host: Blake Shelton

Country music sensation Blake Shelton joins Elaina Smith as Backstage Country co-host from May 5-9! Known for his larger-than-life personality, chart-topping hits, and years as a coach on The Voice, Shelton is set to bring a fun energy on the show—and share a deeper look into his upcoming album, For Recreational Use Only, and working with a new label. 

With his latest album, For Recreational Use Only, scheduled for release on May 9, Smith got curious about Shelton’s experience working on a new label. Shelton exclaimed, “They crack the whip on me!” He added, “It's like, ‘No, if you're going to sign with us and you're gonna expect to have some success, then we need you to do this, this, and this.’ I've been excited about it, though, because I want this for them as much as I do for me. I want to prove that I feel like we've made a record, a piece of music here that's worth their time, you know, and so I'm happy to lean in.” 

Shelton also detailed the record-making process and how he chose to keep working with his team: “I've got Scott Hendricks still as my producer. I still wanted to make the music the way that I always have because I didn't want to do something that's like a left turn. It's kind of something crazy because my music's never really had a direction in the first place. It's kinda been all over the map.” He admitted that he’s been very “contradictory with my music,” but it’s only because he “loves great songs” and that he just wants to sing them and not “think too hard about it after that.” 

Since it was a long time in the making, Smith asked Blake Shelton what his vision is for the album. Shelton reflected on his past albums and how he has “extremes” on those, especially his second album, where he had “The Baby,” which is a sad song, and “Playboys of the Southern World,” which is about partying. He admitted to wanting the same with For Recreational Use Only: “I did want to have that; I was conscious about [it]. I wanted the pendulum to swing as far as it could in both directions, and I felt like we did that because ‘Let Him In Anyway’ is, I would put right there with ‘The Baby’ as far as one of the songs you can relate to. There's no way it doesn't punch you in the gut when you hear it.” 

Get ready for a week full of music, laughter, and a whole lot of Blake Shelton. Tune in to Backstage Country from May 5-9. This is one week of radio you don’t want to miss!