Blake Shelton On The Explosion of New Country Artists: ‘I Know About Maybe 40% Of The Artists That Are On A Chart’

Blake Shelton has enjoyed the kind of career many artists can only dream of having. He’s won numerous accolades, including CMA Entertainer of the Year, he’s charted 29 No.1 hits at country radio, and sold over 13 million albums. The Oklahoma native also became a household name thanks to his 23-season run on NBC’s The Voice. 

Although Blake Shelton is a seasoned artist, he occasionally finds himself in unfamiliar territory as he navigates the wave of new talent in the country music scene. In a recent interview with Audacy’s Katie Neal, Shelton confessed that he often feels out of the loop when looking at the charts, as he doesn’t recognize many of the artists listed. 

“There’s so much incredible talent,” he admitted. “I don’t even know. I look at a chart now and I swear, I’m not kidding when I say I know about maybe 40% of the artists that are on a chart any given day. I’m just like, ‘Google, I’m like, who the hell is that? My God, who is that?’ And it is just crazy to try to keep up with it.”

Shelton has once again found himself in the mix of all these new artists thanks to the success of his latest single, “Texas.” The superstar said that he can feel the momentum for the song building each night he plays on stage and finds himself more grateful than ever to have a song climb the charts this far into his career. 

“I’ve been performing some of these songs, as I sing them, it’s like, ‘oh my God, that one is 18 years old. Oh, that one’s 23 years old. Oh, this one’s 24 years old’ I was thinking that stuff in my mind as I’m singing,” he explained. “And then we come to Texas in the show and it’s like, ‘my God, how lucky am I to still be 25 years into…to still having a song on the radio at any capacity, much less moving the way this one has, this one’s really is taken on a life of its own, and it’s just exciting.” 

The success of “Texas” follows Shelton’s chart-topping duet with Post Malone, and even after everything he’s achieved, he still somewhat doubts his radio career. 

“Right when you think, I guess that was it. Then something like this happens and you’re still in there with these kids coming up trying to keep my head above water,” he said. 

“Texas” marks an important new chapter of Shelton’s career as it’s his very first single with his brand new label, BBR Music Group/BMG Nashville. He joined the label after partying ways with Warner Music Nashville last year, and it sounds like a new album is coming soon. 

“We finally turned the album over to the label…people were asking me, when are you going to have an album? I said, whenever the label says time’s up, I’m gonna keep working on it.” 

Blake Shelton is in the midst of his Friends & Heroes Tour with special guests Craig Morgan, Deana Carter, and Trace Adkins plus very special guest Emily Ann Roberts.