Blake Tollison Shelton is an American singer-songwriter and television personality.
Having released a total of ten studio albums to date, he is one of the most successful singers in modern America.
For brilliant musical performances, as well as for his work on television, he received many awards and nominations.
Shelton first rose to prominence with the release of his debut single "Austin". Written by David Krent and Christy Manna, the song was released in April 2001.
The song is about a woman trying to connect with her former lover. This single gained immense popularity and reached number one on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.
That same year, his self-titled debut studio album was released and reached number 3 on the US Billboard Top Country Albums.
Over the next few years, Shelton released several albums, most of which showed real breakthrough and success for the artist.
He is also known for his roles as a judge on the television shows 'Nashvile Star,' 'Clash of the Choirs,' and 'The Voice', which are popular shows specifically in the field of singing.
In 2016, he played the lead role in the popular cartoon The Angry Birds Movie. Having received numerous awards, Shelton released his 11th studio album Texoma Shore in 2017.
early years
Blake Tollison Shelton was born in Ada, Oklahoma on June 18, 1976. His mother is Dorothy, a beauty salon owner, and his father is Richard Shelton, a used car dealer.
According to his parents, his interest in singing appeared at an early age.
By the time he was twelve years old, he had already learned to play the guitar (with the help of his uncle).
At fifteen, he wrote his first song, and by the age of 16, Shelton was touring various bars, capturing statewide attention and winning the Denbo Diamond Award, Oklahoma's highest honor for young artists.
Two weeks after graduating from high school, in 1994, he moved to Nashville to begin his career as a songwriter.
Albums and songs
'Austin,' 'All Over Me,' 'Ol' Red'
Once he got to Nashville, Shelton began selling the songs he wrote to several music publishers and landed a solo recording deal with Giant Records.
His style was a traditional mix of rock songs and country ballads. He soon topped the country music charts with "Austin", which was at number one for five weeks.
In 2002, he hit the charts with his eponymous debut album released by Warner Bros. after the collapse of Giant Records, and the singles "All Over Me" and "Ol 'Red" helped the album reach gold status.
'The Dreamer,' 'Pure BS'
In February 2003, Shelton released The Dreamer, and his first single, "The Baby", reached number one on the country charts, staying there for three weeks. The second and third singles from the album "Heavy Liftin" and "Playboys of the Southwestern World" hit the top 50 and The Dreamer went gold! In 2004, Blake Shelton began releasing a string of hit albums, starting with Blake Shelton's Barn & Grill. The second single from the album, "Some Beach", became his third No. 1 hit, while the singles "Goodbye Time" and "Nobody besides me" reached the top 10, making the album gold again. Along with this album, Shelton released an accompanying video collection, Blake Shelton's Barn & Grill: A Video Collection.
The next album - Pure BS - was released in early 2007, and its first two singles "Don't Make Me" and "The More I Drink" hit the top 20 hits in the country charts. That same year, Shelton made his reality TV debut, first as a judge on the Nashville Star and later on Battle of the Choirs.
'Startin' Fires,' 'Loaded'
Shelton released the full-length album Startin' Fires in 2009, followed by the 'Hillbilly Bone' and 'All About Tonight' EPs in 2010. That same year, he released his first greatest hits collection, Loaded: The Best of Blake Shelton.
After which he received several Grand Ole Opry awards in 2010, including the Country Music Academy Award, Country Music Association Award and CMT Music Award.
'Red River Blue' and Judge on 'The Voice'
In 2011, Shelton became a judge on the television singing competition The Voice and debuted his new album Red River Blue, which debuted at number 1 on the Billboard 200's most popular music chart.
The album also spawned three hit singles - "Honey Bee", "God Gave Me You" and "Drink on It".
In 2012, Shelton was featured on The Voice season. Also in the same year, he released the holiday album Cheers, It's Christmas in October 2012.
As the musician himself says, apparently the project helps not only new artists, but also himself, because. when he was on the show and presented new albums, they just blew up all the charts.
'Based on a True Story'
In 2013 Shelton released his eighth studio album 'Based on a True Story' and again entered his fourth season as a judge/coach on the hit TV show The Voice.
He appeared alongside Adam Levine, Shakira and Usher. (Shakira and Usher replaced former judges/coaches, namely Christina Aguilera and C-Lo Green, who were judges in 2013.)
For the third time on the show, Shelton coached the winner. Texan teen Danielle Bradbury won top honors for the fourth season of The Voice.
That November, Shelton received two important CMA awards. He was named Male Vocalist of the Year by the Country Music Association for his album 'Based on a True Story'.
It also won the Album of the Year award.
'Bringing Back the Sunshine', 'If I'm Honest,' 'Texoma Shore'
Shelton has never slowed down and has always strived to make more new music. So he quickly went on to work on his new creation 'Bringing Back the Sunshine' (2014), which became a hit among country music fans.
The album, which features "Neon Light", reached the top of the country and pop music charts. He also received another CMA award for Best Male Vocalist of the Year in 2014.
He always knew that he could influence the audience with high quality music and always tried to use this skill to the full, so he got the expected results.
His subsequent albums have also been well received - If I'm Honest (2016) and Texoma Shore (2017).
Basic work
Cheers, It's Christmas, Blake Shelton's seventh studio album, ranks among his most important works. Released in October 2012, the album peaked at number eight on the US Billboard 200.
As of December 2016, it has sold 660 copies in the US. It included singles such as "Jingle Bell Rock", "White Christmas", "Blue Christmas", "Christmas Song" and "There Is A New Child In Town".
'Based on True Story', Shelton's eighth studio album, which is also one of his major works, was released in March 2013.
With hits like 'Sure Be Cool If You Did', 'Boys Round Here' and 'Mine Will be You', the album soon became the ninth best-selling album of the year in the US. It performed well in other countries as well, peaking at number three on both the Australian Country Albums and the Canadian Albums.
'Bringing Back the Sunshine', his ninth album, was released in September 2014.
With singles such as "Neon Light", "Lonely Night" and "Sangria", the album peaked at number one on the US Billboard 200. It sold 101 copies in the US in its first week. The album was number 4 on the Canadian charts for a long time.
'If I'm Honest', Blake's tenth studio album and one of his most successful works, was released in May 2016.
With singles such as "Straight Outta Cold Beer", "She Got a Way with Words" and "Came Here to Forget", the album peaked at number three on the US Billboard 200 and sold 153 copies in its first week. It performed well in other countries as well, peaking at number 13 in the Australian charts and number 3 in Canada.
Personal life
Shelton married Kynett Williams in 2003, but their union did not last long.
The couple divorced in 2006.
In 2011, Shelton married his longtime girlfriend, country music star Miranda Lambert. In 2012, Shelton and Miranda competed together at Super Bowl XLVI.
In July 2015, Shelton and Lambert announced that they were divorcing after four years of marriage. "This is not the future we envisioned," the couple said in a statement. “And it is with 'heavy' hearts that we move forward separately.
We are simple people, with real lives, with real problems, friends and colleagues. Therefore, we kindly ask for privacy and sympathy in this very personal matter.
Shelton soon rediscovered an affair with fellow vocalist and The Voice judge Gwen Stefani.
At the end of 2017, the musician added a new People magazine's Sexiest Man in the World award to his collection.
Reflecting his sense of humor, as well as his good-natured rivalry with Levin in The Voice, he responded to the news with a snap: "I can't wait to show this to Adam."
