← The Bobby Bones Show
The Bobby Bones Show
BOBBYCAST (now on Netflix) - Blake Shelton on The Voice, The Downside of Stardom and His Perfect Day
00:54:15
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- [00:00]
A
This is an iHeart podcast.
- [00:02]
B
Guaranteed Human. Hey, thanks, man. Thanks for hanging out.
- [00:14]
A
Absolutely, buddy. Good to see you.
- [00:16]
B
Yeah, good to see you, too. I like to start off the show with because I never want to ask a question that you get asked all the time because you'll be sitting the whole time thinking, I know he's going to ask me about this. Okay, so the three questions you get asked the most. What's number one?
- [00:33]
A
Oh, man, that is a good question. That's a tough one. I get asked about Gwen a lot. Okay, you know, let's go. But I think. I feel like it's not. It's from the standpoint of, you know, the questions that you get, like, so what are you guys doing for Thanksgiving this year? And does Gwen cook? Or, you know, it's. They're innocent enough, you know, but it's. It's just probably whatever the. Whoever's boss said, go get this stuff from him so we can put it in the, you know, the live section of the magazine.
- [01:07]
B
Okay. So does Gwen cook? Let me ask it.
- [01:09]
A
She loves to cook.
- [01:10]
B
All right, what's question number two? You get asked the most.
- [01:18]
A
And I don't know, I kind of black out during these. These interviews. And it's like, drunk or bored? It depends on what time of day, I guess. I mean, I don't do a lot of interviews unless we have a, you know, project or something coming. That's why this one's. This one's fun to do with you this time because, you know, really, I mean, I'm sure the record labels. I don't say that, but I'm really not like, promoting any. We're not launching anything right now. You know, we're kind of in. In between projects, and so I. I thought it'd be fun just to come here and like, actually have a visit with you. You know what I mean? Okay, then still quit asking me. Such tough. Yeah, yeah.
- [02:04]
B
This was supposed to be the softball part of the interview.
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A
Oh, God. Great.
- [02:06]
B
Because I figured it was Gwen. I figured it was mullet.
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A
I'm not good at tell. Like top 10 things, you know what I mean? They even said like, oh, Bobby, they want to know, like, what's your all time, top favorite albums of all time? You know, And I've been thinking about that for like three days now going, oh, my God, what are they? I don't even really know. I finally decided on some, but that was even hard for me to remember. I don't. I don't remember stuff that well, you.
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B
Know, I think you're worrying about this a little too much.
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A
I guess so, I guess.
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B
Okay, the mullet, when did you cut it? This is going to be the second question. I figured you get asked all the time.
- [02:43]
A
Well, the mullet was a. Was an evolving change because it went from what, you know, we all considered and know what an actual mullet is, which would have been the. I had that for the better part of my teenage years and on into my 20s, but I really only had the actual mullet for the release of my first single, which was in 2001. And. And because I caught at the time, I didn't realize that mullets are cool again now, I guess. But back then when I had them, they were. Weren't cool anymore, you know, it was like that phase had already ran out and no one told me. So my first single came out with a video and there I was with a mullet. And by that time, Tracy Lawrence and Alan Jackson, everybody had cut their mullet and it was just like me and Neil McCoy left at that point that had them. And so when I caught so much grief about it, there was a guy in Nashville that had a morning radio show named Carl P. Mayfield. He. He was, he was gone before you. You came to town and, and, and he would go on his morning show and just, I mean, just whether I was part of the show or not, be in my truck driving and he would play my song, oh, there's the worst new mullet in country music, you know. And so I started thinking, well, I got to do something about this. But I. I was stubborn enough that I thought, okay, I'm not going to cut. I'm not going to let them tell me to cut my mullet, but I will grow out the rest of my hair and just have all long hair, you know, so that way they didn't win. I didn't cut my mullet. I just. I groove the rest of it out to go with it.
- [04:35]
B
The third question I thought people would ask all the time is, how did you get on the Voice?
- [04:39]
A
I got on the Voice because, well, I had done a couple of shows before the Voice. One Nashville Star. I did one season of Nashville Star, which was on the USA Network, which was under the umbrella of. Of NBC. And then I did another NBC show called Clash of the Choirs, which was just one. They did one season. It was like one week holiday special they did. And it was me and Nick Lachey and Kelly Rowland and Michael bolton and Patti LaBelle. And we had to like coach and be the leaders of these choirs. And it was like in America voted on whose choir did the best. And it was like, this series lasted a week, so it was every night, and it was during the holidays. And so it's like a, you know, a Christmas themed thing. And that when I did that, I, I certainly was at best, at best, you know, probably a B level artist in country music. And but as you know, you get on TV and all of a sudden, you know, you just are in front of so many new people. And, and so some executives at NBC, I had caught their attention, and so then I was on NBC's radar. But that's still only part of the reason I, I was asked to be on the Voice. The reason I really got on the Voice is because radio Reba turned it down. And I was being managed by Narvel Blackstock, who was managing Reba and was married to her at the time. And Reba said, you know, she didn't want to. The only other show like that was American Idol at the time. And, and that was back when, you know, I think Simon and those guys would kind of, you know, give people a hard time if they sucked. And, and, and so Reba didn't want to be that, you know, on television, which is understandable. And, and so, and even though that's not even what we did on the Voice, Reba just passed on reality television, basically, I think. And they, and, and they said, well, if she's on do it, who else do you manage there that we might be interested in? And he mentioned, well, I have this new kid, Blake Shelton. And it rang a bell with Clash of the Choirs.
- [07:07]
B
Blake Shelton.
- [07:07]
A
Yeah, exactly. I think that was actually said, like, what are you talking about? The guy from that Mr. Cho. That's right. And so it at least gave. They, they were like, all right, well, we do know who that is, you know, and, and at that point, the offer came in. You know, they had, had already Christina Aguilera signed up. And, and that's all I knew of at the time. But I, I, I pushed back a little bit at first. And, and finally, I think, you know, somebody in my life was like, who. Who do you think you are? Like, you got this opportunity to go be on the show with Christina Aguilera. Like, it's Christina Aguilera. If she's doing it, then who the hell are you to say no, you know? And it's like, you're right. Okay. I don't know what I'm thinking. And so we did it. And, and I remember that was when I met Adam and CeeLo and Adam and I quickly became friends. We had the same kind of sense of humor, you know, and we both thought the show was just the dumbest. The dumbest sellout thing, you know, we could ever do. Especially Adam was super worried about that part of it, you know, like, looking like a sellout or whatever. And. But we both thought, you know, it. It probably wouldn't last anyway. And so let's. Let's do it and have some fun. And then next thing we knew, you know, it became this huge part of our lives. You know, it changed. Changed my life forever.
- [08:33]
B
Did you find that it helped your music a ton?
- [08:36]
A
Yes. Without me. Help my music, meaning, you know, just put it in front of so many more people. And. And so when I say help my music, it helped it sell and. And helped my momentum, you know, at country radio, you know, all of a sudden, it was like I had momentum that I'd never had before, you know, which was crazy to me, you know, because I remember before the Voice, you know, we would release a single and. And it. I was very inconsistent as far as, you know, what worked and what didn't work. At radio, you can. It's fun to think about it now as, like, you know, I came out with Austin, which is this huge record, and then my follow up was this song that barely cracked the top 20. And then we came with oh, Red and got a little momentum back and. And then had a few misses, and. And it wasn't until the Voice that, you know, that we had to run there probably 10 years, or maybe not quite 10 years, maybe seven or eight years. It's just every single we put out was of it just automatically. The people didn't even listen to it. They just put it on the air. You know, I was. Just had that kind of momentum for a minute there, you know, was it.
- [10:00]
B
Weird to be a different level of famous? Because for me, when I started to do television, it was just different kinds of people that never recognized me were now coming up to me. But you was even a different level. Did you start to notice that in your life?
- [10:13]
A
Yeah, it was the. It was immediate, you know, as soon as the Voice started to air. And there's a difference in being on TV and then being on a.
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B
A hit TV network, primetime hit show.
- [10:27]
A
Yeah, yeah. And it was all of a sudden like, oh, now I know how if you don't have thick skin, I know how people lose their minds and. And, you know, freak out and. And they just can't probably handle that kind of scrutiny that that many eyeballs, that much attention, you know, and.
- [10:52]
B
I.
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A
Liked it at first. I thought it was, I thought it was fun. I couldn't believe, like, you know, there was a paparazzi guy waiting outside our gate and, and, or tried to go through an airport or whatever these people were follow taking pictures and stuff. And, and, and at the time, you know, right when I did the voice is also right when Miranda and I got married. And so there was this extra layer of it just kept piling on, more reasons to have more attention, you know, and, and then it became, you know, not so fun after a few years of that and you kind of revert, start not leaving the house as much and you reconsider. Like, well, I wanted to go to the store, but not today. You know, just send somebody else to go get whatever you need. And then, and then now I've kind of stayed that guy. You stayed ever since then? Yeah.
- [11:46]
B
How do you like living in California?
- [11:48]
A
I, I, I don't particularly love living here. It's not California. I, I don't love living in a city at all, you know, and even though now pretty much all of that attention's gone away, you know, we're old news now. But I've still kind of stayed that guy. You know, when I'm here, I just stay in the house pretty much, and, and I watch Colin cow herd in the morning. That gets me through till about, you know, the half of the day. And then the kids get home from school and we mess around and that's about it. Now when I'm in back in Oklahoma, which is, you know, where I stay probably, you know, the other half of the time, pretty much that's 51%.
- [12:36]
B
So you avoid taxes here?
- [12:38]
A
No, I'm 51% there.
- [12:40]
B
That's what I'm saying. Like, you want to live there?
- [12:41]
A
A little about that, yeah. But that's where I, I don't even feel like myself until I'm there, you know, just being out on the ranch and.
- [12:54]
B
How much land do you have out there?
- [12:56]
A
I think now I, it's about 9,000 acres total. You know, I've added. The reason I'm not sure is because, you know, over the years, if something makes sense and it comes for sale, I try to, it touches the ranch. I try to, you know, try to get that bought, you know, and so there's been a couple of little parcels and, and, but I think it's right around 9,000 acres.
- [13:21]
B
Did you watch Ralph Emery growing up as a kid?
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A
I did.
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B
Me too, all the time. And we were just, you know, talking about television. Like, I watched tnn, which is the Nashville Network, which doesn't exist anymore.
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A
Yeah.
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B
But I would watch Ralph Emery and. And the Puppet.
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A
And, you know, I think he was Nashville Now.
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B
Well, TNN is what, what, what? I remember. I just assumed that.
- [13:39]
A
No, there's the name of his shows. Nashville Now, I think, on tnn. And then when he went away, it became Crook and Chase, and they had prime time country.
- [13:48]
B
And it's fun talking to those guys, too, because I remember just watching Crook and Chase introduce music videos and artists to me. Like, I remember when Little Big Town had, like, Tornado. Oh, I watched Crook and Chase introduced me to Tornado. But, like, that's what I watched with my grandma a lot. It was. That's how I got, you know, to love the Opry.
- [14:06]
A
Yeah.
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B
Was.
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A
Were you still living in Arkansas?
- [14:08]
B
I was, yeah. And my grandmas, who would either have me listen to the Opry because an AM radio, that thing would travel a thousand miles at night.
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A
Yeah.
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B
And then we would watch.
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A
Oh, so you would listen to 650.
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B
It would come through at night. Oh, wow. So we would listen to it, and it had. It definitely had a run on T in as well. And so we would watch it a bunch. And then we watched Ralph Emory and the Puppet. I love the Puppet.
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A
When I was a kid, it was Shotgun Red.
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B
Yeah.
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A
Yeah.
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B
I love the Puppet. And then Crook and Chase. When you were in Oklahoma, did you have. Is that what you watched? Is that how you got Nashville?
- [14:39]
A
Yeah, for me, it was. I. I would come home from school, and I would flip channels back and forth between TNN and cmt. That was the only two back then, you know, And I would record. I would just put a videotape in and record. Like, if the videotape was four hours, I would record four hours worth of CMT and, like, leave the house and hopes that whatever video that I was was my favorite at the time. I would catch during that block of time, and I would sit there and when I get home and fast forward, like, on Play to see if, you know, oh, there's Kelly Willis. Finally, I got the Kelly Willis video, or, you know, whatever it was at the time, or Mark. Mark Colley or whoever I was, you know, huge fan of at that moment. And. And it was. That's where I learned, you know, CMT used to play the video, and at the end, they would show the credits, and most of the time, it seemed like that period of time, they would show who the songwriters were. And then I started Getting really interested in that. And to your question, that's where I really started getting this. Oh, this is a. There's a community in Nashville that's putting all this together. Like between TNN and cmt, I started figuring that stuff out, you know.
- [16:04]
B
Did you play music as a kid? Because I was looking some stuff up because I feel like I know pretty much all the stuff that you would normally talk about. But I saw an award that you got at 16 years old that was called like, it was some Oklahoma award that I'd never heard of.
- [16:18]
A
Yeah.
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B
Do you know what that was called?
- [16:20]
A
Yeah, it was the Denbo Diamond Award.
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B
But it is. And I couldn't figure out what it was. It just said known for his Oklahomans and. Or something like that. What is that award? Is that music?
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A
It was talent. It was a talent competition. There was a talent statewide talent competition called Oklahoma Kids. And it's funny because now I see how these young kids make a name for themselves and become, you know, successful artists now basically through social media, as far as I can tell, which is awesome. You know, whatever way makes it happen is what it is. Back then, man, nobody really knew, like, how. How do you make it? How do you get on cmt? Like, where is this? Where do I apply? You know? And really the only thing anybody knew was, well, you got to move to Nashville. Well, what do you do before that? You know, especially if you're, you know, a kid in school, but you love country music. And for me, you know, the key things that happened for me was my mom. My mom knew I loved to sing and she was all about, you know, pageants or any kind of a talent competition or what. She's ate that stuff up, you know, so I'd be singing in my bedroom all the time as a little kid. And I remember she started entering me into talent shows and things and then anything.
- [17:52]
B
Pageants.
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A
Pageants first and because they had a part where you could sing and this is before karaoke tapes. And so I would be singing, you know, old time rock and roll over the actual wreck, just trying to sing the lyrics out louder than Bob Seager, you know, or Cat Scratch Fever was. That was my other specialty. It was basically whatever records my brother had. And. And so anyway, she would sign me up for just about anything going on in Ada, Oklahoma that they. There was going to be a band and she would just try to get me on these things. And eventually she got me hooked up with. They had a little local opry type show there in Ada, Oklahoma, called the McSwain Theater, they'd have local people come sing, you know, every other weekend and play with the house band. And through that I had met other people. You know, I met. There was a couple in Nashville named Mike and Angie Stafford, who was plugged into this Oklahoma Kids thing. And they said, man, you should. We should, you know, get you involved in this. It's like a statewide competition. You could win. You could probably win this thing. We think you're good enough to win. And so I went and entered this competition and. And it was like kids doing, you know, magic tricks to a lot of dancing, a lot of singers, a lot of like, musical type performances. And I was the, far as I can remember, the only kid that walked out there and I sang the river by Garth Brooks and I sang if I Could Bottle this Up by Paul Overstreet. And. And I won this, this whole thing, you know, and it was like I won twelve hundred dollars. And, and. And I still have this little. The. The Denbo Diamond Award, which is an actual like, pin that said, and it had a little tiny diamond on it or whatever. And you know, and looking back on that, it seemed like it was a big deal at the time, but what it really was was a confidence booster for me. Like, man, I did that, you know, maybe I. Maybe I might have a shot at something, you know.
- [20:10]
B
Do you think had you not won, you possibly wouldn't have moved to Nashville?
- [20:15]
A
Maybe. You know, because it's one thing if you're. If your mom and dad tell you how good you are at something, you know, but when you have some people who don't know you that are really judging you on your talent and they, and, and they say you're good, then maybe I wouldn't have moved. Maybe I wouldn't have kept pursuing it. But, you know, I won that thing. I won mon. Like money. I got money for singing, like what? You know, I remember a couple of times I kept that $1,200 in like a jar in the, in the cabinet. And, and I. My dad and I lived in an apartment in 8 Oklahoma. And I remember a couple times he said, hey man, can I borrow 100 bucks? I pay you back. And I remember like, well, I leaned. Loaned my dad 100 bucks. Like, what? You know, and it was just like, oh, it kind of just helped me start realizing, man, it's time to start becoming a man and figure out what I'm going to do with my life. And I really like how that felt. I was 16 or 17 and it's like, all right, let's go with this country music thing for a while.
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B
Did you try that in Oklahoma for a while before you moved? Like, play any sort of restaurants or bars where you could make 20 bucks a night or something?
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A
Well, the. The McSwain Theater that I was talking about, that guy would give me his name was Paul Offered. And. And. And then my friends Larry and Carol Large, they kind of helped run the band and stuff, but Paul would give me, I think, 40 bucks or something every time I sang. And, you know, which was. I was in high school. Like hell, you know, I had friends that were delivering papers and stuff, not making that much money, you know, and so, yeah, I would get paid to do little things here and there.
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B
What was it like when you moved to Nashville and everything's elevated? Was that intimidating or inspiring?
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A
It was horrifying to me because in Ada, you know, even just as a high school kid, I. You know, I was in the newspaper all the time, and people knew who I was. They would see me and come say hi or whatever, just because I'd kind of made a name for myself and Pontotoc County, Oklahoma. And when I went to Nashville, nobody obviously knew how I was and really didn't care, you know, And I'd never felt that in my life at any level of like, just. Just being, you know, ignored, you know. Luckily, when I. When I moved to Nashville, I had met a lady named Maybourne Axton, who was from Ada, who they had brought back to give her this award, like a lifetime achievement award at that McSwain Theater because she had written Heartbreak Hotel for Elvis. And her son was Hoyt Axton, the actor and singer songwriter. He came and it was. I got a chance to meet them, and. And she told me that night, she goes, well, if you ever moved to Nashville, call me up and I'll introduce you or try to help you in any way I can. And that's. I moved to Nashville, and the next day I called her. I just blind called it. Called her and said, I'm in town, you know. And she goes, well, you. Are you working? And I go, no, I just. I'm not even 18 yet.
- [23:32]
B
I have 1200 bucks in my name. Well, 1100.
- [23:34]
A
My dad's long drawn. And she said, well, I have some things that I need done around my house. I'll. I'll pay you to come work, paint my house and stuff. I've got a family reunion coming up, and I want the place to look good. And so that's what I did for, like, the first two weeks. I Moved to Nashville, painted Maybourne, Axton's house. And you know her. Hoyt was there. He was living in his tour bus in her driveway at the time. I don't know if it's where he lived, but that's where he was staying. He wasn't staying in her house. And I remember I would go and sit on the curb and I'd go to Jack in the Box or whatever and get something to eat for lunch, and. And one day I was sitting on the curve there and. And he opened the bus door and I couldn't believe it. Like, I was. My favorite movie as a kid was Gremlins. And just. So this is a guy from Gremlins, like, standing there, and he goes. He goes, hey, boy, come on up here. And so I went up on his bus and. And. And he just talked. Like he just wanted to talk, you know, And. And he was a chain smoker, and he was just the coolest person I had ever seen or met. Like, he was just, like, not even a real person to me. Like, he was from the movie. Like, I couldn't believe it. And I told him that day, I said, well, okay, I'll. You know, I got better to go back to work. I said, are you going to be here tomorrow? And he goes, yeah, I'll be here. And I go, well, tomorrow's my birthday. I'm turning 18 tomorrow. And so the next day, same thing, he invited me up on his bus and he. And he said, what kind of music you going to make? You know? And I. I told him who my people were I looked up to. And he said, well, listen to this song. And he started tapping. He didn't have a guitar. He just started tapping on the table in his bus. And he sang oh, Red to me. And my mind was blown. Like, what is this song like? And you can imagine it coming from Hoyt's voice, you know, it's big, deep voice, just mesmerized. And. And I didn't think I would ever hear the song again. I didn't even know what it was or where it came from or anything. And then he went back into his back of his bus and he came back out and he gave me this knife that was like this. It's like this long. I still have it. And he. And he told me a story. Well, first he just told me the story about the knife, about the guy that made it out of some railroad tracks.
- [26:13]
B
And.
- [26:14]
A
And he gave it to me for my 18th birthday. And he said, happy birthday, you know. And so I got the knife on my 18th birthday. And I was given what went on to be arguably my signature song, maybe the most impactful song of my career. Within two weeks of moving to Nashville on my.
- [26:36]
B
Do you still have the knife?
- [26:37]
A
I still have the knife, yeah. That's it. I got, I got a little bar at my house that I have a few things that mean something to me and it's right there in the middle.
- [26:46]
B
We interrupt this interview to bring you a message from our sponsor. And we're back on the Bobby cast. What did your parents say about moving to Nashville?
- [27:08]
A
They were completely supportive of it. You know, I'm sure deep down they've thought, you know, what the hell is this? But they also knew that I absolutely had no interest in anything else. Like unless it was fishing or hunting. This is the only shot this kid has it something meaningful, you know. And so they were very supportive of it. And of course, especially my mom just from probably thought, oh, he's going to make it. You know, she. She just didn't have any doubt about it whatsoever. I'm not sure if my dad was, was totally that confident. You know, he had a little more different view on it than. But he was very supportive of me going and trying it. And, and, and so that, that was really helpful too. You know, there was never any resistance or, you know, I just felt full on support from all of my family to go try this thing. You know, it's. It's actually working for you around here in our area. So maybe you can do it, you know.
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B
Do you remember the first time that they. Where they were living, not where you were heard your song that actually meant you were making it because they heard your song randomly somewhere.
- [28:23]
A
I don't, I don't remember when they heard it.
- [28:27]
B
Like your mom's like, I heard Austin on the radio. It was crazy.
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A
I'm sure that conversation happened. I think I probably beat them to the punch to everything though is anytime something would happen, like when Austin came out, like when it first charted on Billboard back then you just waited till the actual magazine came out and you like, oh my God, there it is at 72. You know, first call you my mom. My song is at 72. It's on the chart like for real, like, oh my God. You know, and so I, my constant updates probably outran any, any kind of news that they would have for me. You know, I remember though, I happened to be home back then when your album came out. This was. Oh my God, it was brutal too. For me, when your album came out, you had to go do these in store signings. Like Walmart or Kmart was still a big music seller back then. And. And so they sent me out kind of like the radio tours. The week my album came out, I had to go do these in store, like, autograph things. And they thought it'd be a good idea from. To send me back through where I came from. That would make a story. You know, he's back home with his. And that week I was. Happened to be staying at my mom's house. I was in between Oklahoma City and Dallas. So I got to go to my mom's for a day in between. And that day their label called me and said Austin had gone number one at country radio. And of course, it was just like, I couldn't have been at a better place with my friends and family. And. And, you know, it was just on. On believable, like, newspapers that I had grown up looking at as a kid, like the Daily Oklahoma, the Tulsa World. Like, people were bringing to my autograph signing there in eight Oklahoma. Like, I was on the COVID of those newspapers. And it was just everything like. Like, when you talk about your dreams coming true, like, it was just like that for me. Like, after seven years in Nashville, the song got on the radio, was on the COVID of the newspaper. Song went. You know, you went from two weeks.
- [30:48]
B
Working to seven years. It took that long with. With mild traction, a little traction. Did you get close a couple times before? Like, you got a deal? Like, were you ever almost there?
- [30:57]
A
The only person from the executive record label side that. I only got close twice, and it was the same guy both times, and it was Doug Johnson. I. I had a. I had gotten a me a chance to meet Doug Johnson when he ran Epic Records, or he was A and R. I don't know what he did at Epic A and R or something. And I went in and I got to playing, you know, my tape, and I think I might have even played him something on the guitar. He said, man, I think you got something. He goes, I want to think about this. I think you. I like this, you know. And so for like a week, I've. I was dying, like, for my phone to ring, like. And finally they. He called like, a week later, and he just said, you know, I just don't think you're ready. I think I want you to keep coming to see me, but I don't think you're ready yet. And he took maybe one or two other meetings with me, and nothing ever happened. And then a few years later, I Met Bobby Braddock, who. Who strongly believed in me. And he went and re. Produced like three tracks on me. One being oh Red and. And a song called All Over Me. And I can't remember the third one. And he went to every record label in Nashville and. And pitched me. And he went to. At that time, Doug Johnson had moved over and was taken over Giant Records. And he had a meeting with Doug Johnson. He said, I want to play this new kid. And handed him, this is Blake Shelton. And Doug went, oh, my God, that's the kid. I remember him. And. And I remember they called like a couple of days later and said, man, I was. You know, Doug said, I was right. You just needed some time. I want to sign you to Giant Records. And of course, my attorney at the time was like, well, we'll see about that. And I was like, no, we're not going to see about it. I have been in Nashville for all these years. I'm signing this record deal, you know, and. And so it was four years, though, I think three or four years after I signed, before they. We ever released any music. And so that was. That was the same kind of purgatory as the. The first half of not being signed. But, you know, it's getting the record deal was when I signed the record. I remember I went and met Bobby and I drove. There used to be a restaurant in Nashville called Nashville. And we went and met her there to tell her, all right, we decided to. We want to. We want to sign with Giant Records, you know. And that was the first day that I ever felt like I belonged in Nashville. I felt like I had a place. Like I didn't feel like a Klingon driving down Music Row, you know, just beating on doors and being a pain in everybody's ass. And, you know, just. I just felt like I belong here now. Like I really have a place and on Music Row now, you know.
- [34:17]
B
Did you ever think you'd go home? Do you ever think you quit? Yeah, there were any instance where, like, I don't know if this is for me anymore.
- [34:22]
A
There was always. Yeah. And it started happening when my friends that I graduated high school with were now graduating college. And there I was still like, you know, hanging out in Nashville, and I. But every time that I almost gave up, something would happen. There would always be some little. Hey, I heard so and so, you know, they dropped. They dropped an artist and they are looking. You know, there'd always be some little glimmer of hope, you know, I remember I got a meeting one time with, you know, Byron Gallimore, which is from Tim.
- [35:03]
B
Huh, don't know from Tim.
- [35:05]
A
From Tim McGraw. Yeah, Tim McGraw's producer. And I got. And Byron would kill me, but I don't care. It's been long enough now I can tell this story. He'll. He'll. He'll probably give me a crap about it. But I had a meeting with, with Byron and I played him a bunch of songs that I had written or co written and it was my demos and I even played him something on the guitar and he. And it was kind of like he goes, man. But he didn't run a record label or anything, but he was probably with Tim McGraw back then, the hottest producer in Nashville. And so it was, it was as close to getting a record. If Byron was going to produce you, somebody would sign you, you know. And he said, man, I. I really like these songs and I like your voice. He goes, but you just don't really have like that, that bottom end, that bass. Bass that you need, you know, to like. He goes, how old are you? You know, I'm saying, Man, I'm 20 or however old I was. He goes, yeah, I mean, it's going to be there, It'll be there. You know, you just need more wear and tear on your voice and your voice just isn't quite developed. And he goes, this is what he's going to kill me about. He goes, mandy, do you smoke or you drink whiskey or anything? And I go, well, I don't smoke. I said, I drink if I can get it, you know. He goes, well, he goes, maybe if you smoked or something. And I, man, I left his office and I went straight there. Used to be that Virginia's market, it might still be there, that we called it the Murder Martin. I drove straight there and I bought a pack of his right When Marlboro Ultralights came out, I thought, man, I can probably smoke one of them. They're probably not too bad. And I bought a pack of Marlboro Ultralights and for three months I sat on my back porch over by Harding Mall. I had a little apartment over there. And I was trying to smoke these cigarettes and man, I would cough and gag. I finally got to where I could smoke them, you know, and then. But I don't know how, because my dad smoked. He was addicted to cigarettes his whole life, but most of his life, and I never got addicted to him. Finally one day I was like, man, this is stupid. Like, what am I doing? You know, I never. I guess I wasn't doing It. Right. But I, I tried it. I tried it, Byron. I guess eventually I got old enough that I had enough bottom end.
- [37:31]
B
Low end is developed.
- [37:33]
A
Huh?
- [37:33]
B
Low end developed naturally enough.
- [37:35]
A
I guess.
- [37:38]
B
You'Re.
- [37:39]
A
Let that be a lesson, Byron. You know.
- [37:43]
B
You'Re doing the residency in Vegas, which is super cool. I have a personal question about that. Do they send a plane to get you every show, or do you stay there?
- [37:52]
A
No, I just have my own plane. You know, I don't have the Garth. I don't have the Garth.
- [37:57]
B
That's an even bigger flex if you have your own plane, I guess so.
- [38:01]
A
It's just. It's pretty expensive. Yeah, I always heard about it. We all as, as country artists. I remember when Garth got that, that residency that he did at the Wind.
- [38:12]
B
When they would send to the plane.
- [38:13]
A
And that was before residencies were, like, the thing to do. And it was like, what's he gonna do?
- [38:17]
B
What?
- [38:18]
A
They gave him. What? They gave him the plane at the end.
- [38:21]
B
They gave him the right. Steve Wynn gifted him the plane.
- [38:23]
A
Yeah. He set the bar too high right off the bat, you know, I don't, I know, don't. I don't know if anybody's arrived at that Garth level ever again. You know, Caesars is like, hey, man, we'll. We'll pay you, but you figure out how to get your ass here, you know?
- [38:40]
B
So I went to the Garth residency.
- [38:42]
A
I've never heard anything but how incredible it was. It was the acoustic one, right?
- [38:46]
B
It was acoustic. And he would play songs that influenced him into a song that kind of made sense after it. So he'd play like a James Brown song, or you play a song from the Eagles, like a verse and a chorus.
- [38:59]
A
Yeah.
- [38:59]
B
And then go on to one of his songs. Verse and a chorus.
- [39:01]
A
Oh, gotcha.
- [39:01]
B
Which then it was hour and 45 minutes, you know, so fast that those shows are really fun, though, because it's massive. Artists like yourself, but you're closer to them as you than you normally would be at an arena or a big amphitheater. Is that fun for you to actually be closer to people?
- [39:17]
A
I love to be able to interact, you know, the one thing that I never truly loved about touring arenas and when we got to those kind of size venues, you know, I mean, that's your dream. That's the ultimate, like, look at me, you know? But I, I, it was never as fun to me, but. And I learned early on, man, you can't have the kind of moments that you have at the Coliseum at Caesar's palace in an arena, because people don't know who you're talking to. So if you try to, like, have a moment with somebody in the audience, you really lose. At least I never figured out you really lose the arena at that moment. You know, you. So everything you do, you really have to play everything over the top, big to everybody, you know, that's how I've had to, you know, get through and feel like, you know, I did a good job, but, you know, but my passion, what I love is when I would play the bars or, you know, small theater or do something acoustic and. And have those moments with somebody specific in the audience or a group that you can tell is a birthday party or a bridesmaid party or something and have a moment, because in a venue that size, everybody's in on whatever's happening, you know, and it just. For me, that's the most fun to have that kind of a connection. I'm more afraid of an audience if I can't have that kind of connection, you know.
- [40:52]
B
Hang tight. The Bobby cast will be right back. Welcome back to the Bobbycast. Yeah, those shows are always super fun because you're just closer.
- [41:11]
A
You just.
- [41:11]
B
You can just. Again, because only massive artists play those. The Vegas Residencies. But then it's kind of the opposite of what you're used to, because then you're super close to a massive artist. Yeah. And so that. That's fun. Is it this your second round doing them, though, right?
- [41:25]
A
Yeah.
- [41:26]
B
Do you stay at the casino or do you get an Airbnb or do you just go home?
- [41:30]
A
I usually just go home. I mean, it's just like 30 minutes.
- [41:34]
B
Do you ever go to the casino? Do you ever go to the casino and gamble?
- [41:38]
A
No.
- [41:38]
B
Did you ever have a gambling phase?
- [41:40]
A
Yeah.
- [41:40]
B
Are you still in that gambling phase? Just not then.
- [41:42]
A
I. I wasn't. I wouldn't call it a gambling phase. I'd call it a poker. Oh, man.
- [41:47]
B
I had one of those, too.
- [41:48]
A
Yeah.
- [41:48]
B
Big. I used to fly out to Vegas all the time playing tournaments.
- [41:51]
A
Just love to play the tournaments and stuff, and. But not as. I don't bet on sports or any of that stuff, you know, outside of a stupid fantasy football league, you know, But I know I never go in there anymore. I just. I feel like if I'm gonna step out when I'm in Las Vegas, I'll go over to O Red and jump on stage and sing something, you know, and feel like I'm get, you know, getting to do something fun and, you know, show my face, you know, It's Always a, you know, a good idea. I have these places to poke my head in once in a while, I feel like. Because, you know, I think it's important to. For people to feel like it really is somewhere that I would come to. And so I do try to go to them when I can.
- [42:38]
B
Isn't it crazy how all that happened? You're. You meet somebody in. In your hometown and she, like, moved to Nashville, but then while you're living in Nashville, her son takes you in and plays you a song, and then you record that song in your first few songs and then it becomes a hit for you. And then you name Bart. But all that because she happened to be receiving an award and in the small town that you grew up in and you were there that night.
- [43:06]
A
I look back, man, and I think, you know, I wonder if. If one thing to. Going back to your question about that contest I won, if one thing would have happened different, just one thing, I wonder, would I be sitting here today talking to you about all this? You know, it's just amazing how things have to, especially in this business, you know, have to just absolutely just line up perfectly. When the right thing ends, something begins and, you know, it's a. It's crazy to think about, you know, the what ifs for sure.
- [43:43]
B
I've got three more questions for you.
- [43:45]
A
If you were to go sit down.
- [43:47]
B
We're an hour. We're just about an hour, really. Yeah. What do you want to know for.
- [43:50]
A
Anything anybody wants to hear? It's just me. I think that's what I want me the whole time. Let's talk about you.
- [43:57]
B
All right, give me one question. Give me the three questions you think I get asked the most.
- [44:01]
A
Were you dying to leave Arkansas?
- [44:06]
B
I knew the only way that I was going to be successful and what I wanted to do, which was radio, TV, comedy, is I had to leave a town of 700 people. So I. To me, Hollywood or New York or Nashville, that was fairy tale.
- [44:18]
A
Like, it wasn't hard to.
- [44:20]
B
It wasn't like it was really hard because I knew nobody, but I just knew it was the only way that I was going to have a shot.
- [44:27]
A
Yeah, me too.
- [44:28]
B
Because again, you would see tv. That stuff wasn't real to me or to you because I'm in Arkansas, you're in Oklahoma. People in New York and la, that was. That was so fancy and rich and Hollywood. Yeah, none of that was real. I. When I went to Idol, because I was on Idol for four years and I'd never been to California until it was Time to go for work. And that was what a lot of those kids were going through. That's part of the reason they hired me for that show, because the first time that I was there and I was like, oh, I get it. And we'd be off to the side. I'd be like, you're freaked out. You've never seen buildings like this. Same. Same with me. So it was difficult, but I knew I had to do it.
- [45:02]
A
Yeah.
- [45:03]
B
Yeah. That's question one. All right.
- [45:04]
A
Yeah. Question two. The baby. Are you. Are you. Are you afraid right now? Are you excited? Are you scared?
- [45:20]
B
The easy answer is, yeah, of course I'm scared. The hard answer is that I never had a dad. I don't have a model, which, like, I didn't really have parents. My mom was an addict, you know, so she was in and out. My grandma raised me a lot. For me, the part that's super scary is that I've not seen successful parenting, so it's totally unknown.
- [45:46]
A
Yeah.
- [45:47]
B
It's like, we're gonna drop you off on Mars. That's what this feels like. So I'm excited about it because I think that part of me can heal through that version of it. But, yeah, I don't. I don't know what's gonna happen.
- [46:01]
A
Well, the one thing that you know is you're gonna be there. So.
- [46:04]
B
But, like, my dad left me when I was five years old. That. How do you leave that? And is that genetically in me where I'm just like, I should leave, like, that stuff? That's the part where that I wrestle with.
- [46:15]
A
Yeah, I hear you, but I don't think so.
- [46:17]
B
I don't either. Yeah, because I have an awesome wife.
- [46:20]
A
Yeah.
- [46:21]
B
But. Yeah, that's. That's the answer to that one. And your final question, because I have, like, two more questions for you.
- [46:25]
A
My final question for you is, what are your other two questions for me?
- [46:29]
B
Great. Thank you. Good question. Glad you asked. I want you to do this one through five. Give me your favorite Blake Shelton songs. One through five. Number one.
- [46:47]
A
Well, I guess. I guess Austin is probably my number one favorite. You know, I've gone through such a love hate relationship with that song.
- [46:59]
B
Did you not like to play it for a while?
- [47:01]
A
Only because, like, I was just so sick of it. Like, are you kidding me? Like, I mean, it's. It's the. It was brought. Brought me to the game, and. And. And so about five or six years after that song came out, you know, when I first started performing, we would do Austin twice a night. We would like, do it like early in the set because that's the only reason anybody's at this bar. And then we would, like, do it at the end because people showed up that weren't there when I first did it, you know. So do doing that one song twice a night for at least two years, you know, because I don't have anything else anybody wanted to hear. We were so excited when O Red started becoming a hit. It was like, oh, my God, we have two songs. And so I just got so burnt out on it and in it, but I never stopped doing it. I just, you know, it was just like, oh, gosh, we got it. Here we go. You know, and now I'm back to, man, what a song. Like, what a. Just an incredible song that those two that they wrote. And. And it just stands. Seems like it stood the test of time, you know, like, people, you know, come to the show and I could tell it takes them back to a moment like in their life when. When that song was a hit. And so there's that, I think a song that I don't perform anymore in concert, which is probably one of the most well written songs that. That I've ever recorded, is called the Baby.
- [48:47]
B
Is this number two on your list?
- [48:48]
A
Yeah, because it. It's just the most honest and heartbreaking lyric. Like, it's like the stereotype of country music being the sad. I mean, it is. It. It is the epitome of that. I stopped doing it in my shows because it would like, you'd be. You'd finally get the place going. You know, if you're playing an amphitheater or an arena and then you play the baby and literally, like, people want to leave.
- [49:20]
B
They're like.
- [49:21]
A
Like, this is the worst feeling I've had all night. Like, this is terrible. Like, I don't want to hear this, you know, and so I just stopped doing it and. And. But the song was a, you know, it was a. It was a big record for us. And it's weird to have a record like that that you just. You're just afraid if you do it live, you're just going to kill the show. And. And then I would put. Oh, that would be number two. I'd put Old Red at three. And there's a song that I had out years ago called who Are you? And I'm not looking that. I just think so. Just a beautiful song. And I just love the idea of that song. And I don't know, maybe mine would be you. It was another record that we had years ago that I just always thought was, you know, underrated. And these are all ballads, huh?
- [50:19]
B
Yeah, my favorite songs are all ballads too, because you can really spend time with the lyrics. Yeah. Like, I don't know songs that are fast. I kind of know melodies that are fast. I don't know songs that are fast lyrics anyway. But I listen to the baby every night before I go to bed.
- [50:32]
A
Do you really? You do?
- [50:33]
B
No, I don't.
- [50:35]
A
But you're just the kind of guy that you would have some reason, like.
- [50:38]
B
Yeah, yeah, you're right. You're right. Final question for you. If you. You have a perfect day, what's your perfect day?
- [50:45]
A
Perfect Day is in Oklahoma, at the ranch. Gwen is there and the boys are there, but the boys are doing their own thing. Like, that's what I love about the ranch. Like, you know, that's where the kids have learned to drive. That's where they've learned to fish, then do all the stuff. That's where they've learned that there's places you can go and just be free. And they don't get that here, you know? And so my perfect day is there with Gwen and the boys. And the boys are out side doing things, you know, that makes me happy to see them just out messing around. Is simple. And does that sounds. It's just makes me happy, you know? And it's not hot.
- [51:37]
B
Yeah.
- [51:37]
A
And it's not hot. I'll take, you know, 5 degrees over 100 degrees.
- [51:45]
B
Yeah, I'm not going to take that. But I get it. Okay.
- [51:49]
A
You.
- [51:49]
B
You spent time preparing. So give me your favorite albums. Three favorite albums of all. Finally, this is it. Send Us Home, Blaze of Glory, Earl Thomas Conley.
- [52:02]
A
Somewhere Between Right and Wrong was one of them. I put a lot of miles on that cassette, buddy.
- [52:07]
B
Was that given to you by your mom or dad or.
- [52:09]
A
No, I bought. I. I bought that one. I bought that one. The album had been out for 15 years before I bought it.
- [52:17]
B
Yeah, that's why I was asking.
- [52:18]
A
Yeah, I bought Mark Collies. I think the name of the album. Well, it was the album that had some. Even the man in the moon is crying on it. I think it was Born in Black and White is the name of the.
- [52:36]
B
Album that was such a jam. Because even the Man. That's such a jam.
- [52:42]
A
Yeah, that whole record, man, it got it. I'm gonna have to do my top five Paul Overstreet Heroes album and then I'm going to say Travis Tritt. It's all about to change those ones. And Sean Camp had An album that I lived on to six.
- [53:05]
B
Was it five or six? Was that six?
- [53:07]
A
I think so.
- [53:08]
B
All right. You said you didn't like lists.
- [53:10]
A
That's what I mean.
- [53:11]
B
You demanded a list. You started the interview. I don't like lists. You demanded to do a list at the end.
- [53:16]
A
I don't like top fives or top our top ones. That's a good set. Here tomorrow. And go. Oh, I forgot about Kelly Willis. Yeah, she's got to be in there. Thought I was going to marry her when I was in high school, you.
- [53:30]
B
Know, Used to record a video.
- [53:32]
A
Yeah. And Matresa Berg. I had her line to the moon album of miles on that thing, you know?
- [53:37]
B
Still making the list. I love it.
- [53:39]
A
Yeah.
- [53:39]
B
I've changed you. You're a changed man. I really appreciate the time we came out here to see you, so I really appreciate you spending an hour here. Yeah. This is really cool. And you guys, we talked about it at the very beginning before Blake got here, but it's happened at Caesar's palace, the residency. Go see it. It's awesome. He talks to every single person in the crowd. And if he doesn't talk to you, your money back. You heard it here first. Straight eye contact. A conversation with you or your money back.
- [54:04]
A
I just flashed back to my in store autograph signings.
- [54:08]
B
All right. Good to see you, Blake.
- [54:09]
A
Thank you, buddy.
- [54:10]
B
This has been a Bobby Kast production. Foreign.
- [54:20]
A
This is an I heart podcast.
- [54:22]
B
Guaranteed human.