Blake Shelton wouldn’t be where he is, in either his personal or professional life, without The Voice. The 47-year-old met his wife, Gwen Stefani, on the reality TV talent show, and saw his career reach new heights, including recently receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
“It’s not something that a country singer dreams of,” Shelton admitted on The Jennifer Hudson Show. “Obviously I know what it is. and what a big deal it is. I just never thought something like that was in the cards for me … I was just in shock. It all goes back to The Voice. I mean, honestly, The Voice, it connected everything for me. I was having a country music career, but then they asked me to be on The Voice and it literally changed my life in so many ways.”
Shelton pointed to a photo of him with Stefani and his three sons.
“Look at the family right there. That’s the number one way it did,” Shelton said. “All of a sudden it’s like I’m The Brady Bunch.”
It was Reba McEntire who was tapped to replace Shelton on The Voice, who departed the show after 22 seasons, which was a bit longer than he originally intended to stay.
“To be totally honest about it, I wasn’t even planning on being there that long,” Shelton admitted. “I was planning on wrapping it up around 20 seasons or 21 seasons, and then obviously COVID hit, and then I didn’t want to walk out on the show in the middle of COVID and them trying to scramble and figure out what to do.”
“So, I stayed,” he added. “I didn’t have anything to do anyway, so I stayed a little bit longer. But I stayed too long for me to now miss it, I can promise you that.”
Shelton might have stepped away from The Voice, but he definitely isn’t retiring. The “No Body” singer will embark on his 2024 Back To The Honky Tonk Tour in February. He is also working on his sixth Ole Red location, this one his biggest yet, in Las Vegas.
“I’ve seen this phase of the process enough times to know that I can picture it now and there’s similarities to all the Ole Reds, and there’s some similarities to… Nashville with the balcony that looks down on the stage and the bar placement and all that stuff,” Shelton told People.
“But it’s also just so much bigger,” he added. “I mean, this is a giant, and so I don’t know that I would say I’m emotional, but it is overwhelming, and it’s hard for me to take it all in right now and just accept that this is really happening and we’re almost to the finish line.”
Find all of Shelton’s music and tour dates at BlakeShelton.com.