The Song Blake Shelton Was Told Would Be a Flop, Turned Into Number 1

Blake Shelton recently opened up to Bobby Bones Show about everything from his Vegas residency to his favorite smells and even his lack of a skincare routine.

Earlier this year, he performed a residency at The Colosseum in Las Vegas and loved the experience so much that he’s heading back for a longer stint. He admits he initially thought the venue would be huge, but loved its intimate size. On top of that, the residency comes with a big perk, less travel and no nightly setup of 15 trucks worth of gear. “Artists do better in Vegas,” Shelton shared, noting the convenience makes it all worthwhile.

When he’s not on stage, Shelton is at home in Oklahoma. Mowing, brush-hogging, and making sure the ranch doesn’t get “raggedy.” While he often has help maintaining the land, he says contributing himself makes him feel good. “I like the smell of gas; it makes me feel like a man, like I did something that day,” he laughed. Shelton credits his debut single “Austin” as the song that truly launched his career. It gave him staying power even when other songs didn’t perform as well. He also credits “Ol' Red,” which became more than a hit, it turned into a successful restaurant and bar chain.

Another standout track for Shelton was “Who Are You When I’m Not Looking”—a slow ballad he didn’t expect to hit big. On the flip side, he shared a funny story about “I Wanna Talk About Me.” Shelton shared that the song was written specifically for him by Bobby Braddock because he talked some in his songs, so he recorded it and then it got sent off. After focus group testing deemed it a flop by Shelton, the song went on to become a No. 1 hit for Toby Keith instead. Shelton says he often feels like a copycat when making records, drawing inspiration from his heroes like Travis Tritt, Alabama, and Mark Collie. His upcoming album, Stay Country or Die Trying, carries that same classic country vibe—down to an intro that imagines himself performing alongside Alabama.

He doesn’t use fancy hair products and often uses hotel shampoo. He loves the tingling feeling of Selsun Blue. He has no skincare routine, though he jokes maybe he should start. Whether it’s playing music, working his ranch, or joking about hotel shampoo, Blake Shelton proves he’s still as down-to-earth as ever.