A new song is here from Blake Shelton! The Oklahoma native just dropped “Stay Country or Die Tryin’. The song is from Shelton’s forthcoming For Recreational Use Only, out on May 9.

“Stay Country or Die Tryin'” was written by Drew Parker, Graham Barham, Sam Ellis and Beau Bailey.

“When I heard ‘Stay Country or Die Tryin,’’ it took me back to the first time I heard ‘Ol’ Red’ or ‘God’s Country,’” says Shelton. “It’s got so much energy and is full of those little catchphrases and things we say out in the country. I absolutely fell in love with it. I’m proud of this recording—and I love singing it live even more. Hopefully, you’ll come catch a show and sing it with us.”

The new song comes as Shelton has a Top 10 hit with “Texas,”  the debut single from his next record, and his first on BBR Music Group/BMG Nashville.

“It kind of walks a line that’s a little bit of a ‘Stranger In My House’ or something like that,” Shelton tells American Songwriter. “It’s kind of got this haunting thing about it, but you can also jam out and rock out to it at the same time … I knew I loved the song, but I don’t record songs that I don’t love. So that was the easy part to, know that I loved it. I needed to know what other people thought about it before I was willing to say, ‘Let’s come with it first.’ I haven’t done this in a long time, and I wanted it to have an impact.”

Shelton also released “Let Him In Anyway,” a powerful spiritual song that was penned by HARDY, Zach Crowell and Jameson Rodgers.

“‘Let Him In Anyway’ is one of the more powerful lyrics and just overall pieces of music that I’ve ever gotten a chance to work on,” Shelton says. “I heard the song; Hardy is actually a co-writer on the song. He’s a friend of mine, and I just never heard a song quite like it. I don’t think this song’s ever been written before, anything like it. Whenever I heard it, and got a chance to record it, I was honored, and I’m really proud of the record that we made on it.”

Although not yet released, Shelton also has a duet, “Hangin’ On,” with his wife, Gwen Stefani, on For Recreational Use Only. The song is, perhaps surprisingly, a break-up song, although Shelton says it worked well for their voices.

“It’s really no reflection of where Gwen and I are, in our relationship, I hope,” Shelton tells Access Hollywood. “But it’s a bada– country song, and we wanted to do it. It’s a song that pushes us vocally, and we just loved the song. We’re to a point in our lives, we just want to do songs that we love, and then see what happens I guess later.”

Pre-order of For Recreational Use Only is available now. See a track list for the new album below. Find the record, and all of Shelton’s music and upcoming shows, at  BlakeShelton.com.

For Recreational Use Only Tracklist:

1. Stay Country or Die Tryin’ – (Drew Parker, Graham Barham, Sam Ellis, Beau Bailey)
2. Texas – (Johnny Clawson, Kyle Sturrock, Josh Dorr, Lalo Guzman)
3. Hangin’ On (feat. Gwen Stefani) – (Sam Ellis, Charles Kelley, Greylan James)
4. Strangers – (Michael Hardy, Zach Crowell, Jameson Rodgers)
5. Let Him In Anyway – (Michael Hardy, Zach Abend, Kyle Clark, Carson Wallace)
6. Heaven Sweet Home (feat. Craig Morgan) – (Chris Tompkins, Sarah Buxton, Jake Rose)
7. Life’s Been Comin’ Too Fast – (Craig Wiseman, David Lee Murphy, Lindsay Rimes)
8. Don’t Mississippi – (Shane McAnally, Ross Copperman, Ben Hayslip, Josh Osborne)
9. All of My Love – (Colton Swon, Zach Swon)
10. Cold Can – (Bobby Pinson, Josh Osborne, Andrew DeRoberts)
11. The Keys – (Jay Brunswick, Brock Berryhill, Bobby Pinson)
12. Years (feat. John Anderson) – (Pat McLaughlin, John Anderson, David Ferguson, Daniel Auerbach)

Photo Credit: Robby Klein