Blake Shelton has seen a lot of success throughout his more than 20 year career, but the Oklahoma-native says he’s never had more fun than he is right now. After stepping away from the spotlight following 24 seasons on The Voice, multiple hit albums and #1 songs, Blake Shelton is back and he’s living his best life.
LISTEN NOW: Blake Shelton joins the Superstar Power Hour with Katie Neal
“I’m having the time of my life right now, just in my personal life and my music life,” he shared with Audacy’s Katie Neal while co-hosting the Superstar Power Hour,. “[Music] has kind of been of been off the radar for, I guess a couple of years, as far as releasing any new music or anything. It’s exciting, I kind of feel like a new artist again sticking my neck out there. I’m having a blast with it.”
Shelton shared he wasn’t always sure he’d return with new music, but after spending time with one artist in particular — Post Malone — his passion for the craft was reignited. “I credit him for really firing me up again about wanting to get in and make another record and get some music out there,” Shelton shared of his new friend Post.
“I don’t know how he does it. I’ve never been around a more infectious, happy person in my life as Post Malone. I hope everyone gets a chance to shake his hand one day because you’ll have a better day because of it. He’s just the happiest, most gracious guy I’ve ever met in my life. I don’t mean one of, I mean thee.”
Sharing he hopes Post will continue to stick around the genre, Blake shared he’s happy to have some space on the radio alongside artists like Post with his new single, “Texas.” Despite being weary to record the song, Shelton shared he’s more than happy for following through with it as it’s led to some of his greatest memories in the studio.
“I thought, ‘My gosh,’ this song is really special,” he said of the first time he heard it. “I was a little bit nervous about it for me, in fact I told Scott [Hendrix] (producer), I said, ‘I don’t know that I could see myself doing that song…’ but then the more I thought about it, the more I came to maybe that’s exactly why I should go in and record the song.”
He continued, “It’s some of the most fun I’ve ever had in the studio making a record and that’s just because the song is fun. That’s all it’s really meant o be anyway.”
According to Shelton, there’s lots more new music to come as he has plans to release an entire album in the coming year - but he plans on maximizing his time in the creative stages to make sure it’s exactly what he wants. “I have a record ready to go,” he shared. “I would like to keep lookin’ and playin’ with it for the next few months and recording some more things because I feel like I’m just now figuring out — especially with ‘Texas’ — what I want the sound to be like…. just kind of where I want to move to with this next step.”
While fans anxiously await new music, they have the opportunity to pass the time by seeing Shelton in Vegas for a six-night residency in February 2025 where Shelton says he hopes to treat fans to some of the older classics.
“If people are going to travel to come see me, they’re probably fans that… [have] been following along with me for a long time,” he said. “I think maybe the best thing I can do is dig out some of those old songs that I just don’t do anymore for whatever reason that I know were big records at the time — back in the freakin’ ‘90s or whenever they came out,” he laughed.
Tickets for all six shows at Las Vegas’ Colosseum at Caesars Palace are available now and can be found here. To hear more about Shelton’s plans for the residency, new music and stories behind the classics check out his entire interview with Audacy’s Katie Neal.