Blake Shelton’s Year-Round Christmas Cheer

Blake Shelton enjoys the double-take. Towering above most people at 6’5″, it’s impossible for him to not stand out.
He’s already turned some heads, announcing his release date for his Christmas album, “Cheers It’s Christmas” in the middle of summer.
The album, which consists of duets with the likes of Michael Buble, Reba McEntire and his mother, Dorothy Shackleford, is being released Oct. 2.
Shelton said he’s been looking to do a Christmas album for the last three years, but the project really came together when he pitched Buble, who is also working with Shelton as a mentor on Season 3 of “The Voice.”
Shelton thought Buble’s “Home,” a 2005 track from his album “It’s Time,” “embodied my idea of Christmas,” said Shelton. Via email, Shelton pitched Buble, asking the Canadian singer to rewrite the song to make it holiday appropriate.
“I was too nervous to call and ask him something like that, at least if it’s in email I can feign hacking,” said Shelton. Buble agreed and re-wrote the song, recording a duet with Shelton.
Oklahoma native McEntire also recorded a duet with the country singer. Shelton’s mother, Shackleford wrote and sang “time for Me to Come Home” with Shelton. “The Voice” coach lost his father at age 71 last year, so working with his mother “meant a lot” to Shelton.
Over half the album is made up of duets, although Shelton won’t reveal who else he’s collaborating with. “It’s very personal to me, but this album has definitely taken me out of my element and pushed me to really work through a lot of ideas,” said Shelton.

 

Bowyer celebrates win with Blake Shelton

Bowyer celebrates win with Blake Shelton concert

Clint Bowyer doesn't need a reason to throw a party, and he already had one planned even before he won at Sonoma.
Bowyer celebrated the opening of the Bowyer Community Building in his hometown of Emporia, Kan., on Tuesday night with a concert by country star Blake Shelton. The building is located at the Lyon County fairgrounds and was built with funds raised through Bowyer's "79 Fund" charity.
"It was always going to be a big week, starting with all the charity foundation things we had planned, then we go and win the race," Bowyer said in a telephone interview on Wednesday. "It's been the biggest week we've ever had. It just set us up in being able to celebrate, and that we did, let me tell you."
The Tuesday night concert with Shelton was scheduled as the grand opening of the community center Bowyer gifted to the county. The event included a VIP reception inside the center, where Bowyer, Shelton and NASCAR's Kyle Petty conducted a Q&A with fans.
Petty was then the opening act at the outdoor amphitheater in front of a crowd Bowyer estimated to be about 900 people. Shelton, a good friend of Bowyer's, then performed an acoustic show.
"Obviously, in my hometown, that building is something we are very proud of," Bowyer said. "And Blake, he killed it as always. It was really more of an intimate show, and it really showed his talents. Man, we had a good time."
Bowyer won his first race of the season, first career win on a road course, and first since joining Michael Waltrip Racing on Sunday at Sonoma. A day earlier, he auctioned off his 2011 Toyota Tundra custom truck at Barrett-Jackson to raise funds for the Emporia Community Foundation.
Now, he's ready to get back to racing.
"I woke up today wishing I was going to Kentucky," he said. "We've had a good time this last week, and I need to get back to work so I can get some rest."

Country Superstar Blake Shelton

Country Superstar Blake Shelton to Play Penticton in August

Blake Shelton, Academy of Country Music male voice of the year, will perform in Penticton at the South Okanagan Events Centre on Aug. 4.
 The Oklahoma superstar is promising Penticton a boot-stomping good time after taking the country music spotlight in 2001. Shelton has received international attention for his versatile voice and catchy lyrics and is regarded as the genre’s most accomplished vocalist.
 Straight off six back-to-back No. 1 hits, his past three top singles were featured on his Grammy award-nominated album, Red River Blue. Some of Shelton’s most memorable hit singles include Austin, Goodbye Time, Honey Bee, plus a chart-topping rendition of Michael Bublé’s Home.
 This down-to-earth country star also coaches vocalists on NBC reality show, The Voice. His vocalist, Jermaine Paul, recently won The Voice season two and Shelton was the runner-up coach in season one.
 When asked about his career by Billboard, Shelton acknowledges that “I’m still learning, still reaching and growing, and it’s great to have more and more people along for the ride.”
 Shelton was recently nominated for three Teen Choice Awards in the category and has three nominations in the CMT Music Awards for video for the year and male video of the year for God Gave Me You and CMT performance of the year for Footloose.
 Shelton is also nominated for entertainer of the year and male vocalist of the year for the Academy of Country Music Awards.
 Canadian country music singer/songwriter Marlee Scott is set to open for Shelton with chart topping hits Here to Heaven, Beautiful Maybe and Train Wreck.