Blake Tollison Shelton (born June 18, 1976, in Ada, Oklahoma [1]) is an American country music artist. In 2001, he made his debut with the single "Austin". Released as the lead-off single from his self-titled debut album, "Austin" went on to spend five weeks at Number One on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. This song was the first single from his gold-certified debut album, which also produced two more Top 20 hits. Although the album was released on Giant Records Nashville, Shelton was transferred to Warner Bros. Records Nashville after Giant closed in late 2001. His second and third albums, 2003's The Dreamer (his first for Warner Bros. proper) and 2004's Blake Shelton's Barn & Grill , were each certified gold as well. Shelton's fourth album, Pure BS , was issued in 2007, and re-issued in 2008 with a cover of Michael Bublé's pop hit "Home" as one of the bonus tracks. This cover was also that album's third single. A fifth album, Startin' Fires , was released in November 2008. Overall, Shelton has charted fifteen singles on the country charts, including five Number One hits: "Austin" (2001), "The Baby" (2003), "Some Beach" (2004-2005), "Home" (2008) and "She Wouldn't Be Gone" (2009). Besides these, three more of his singles have reached Top Ten: a cover version of Conway Twitty's "Goodbye Time", "Nobody but Me", and "I'll Just Hold On".

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Biography

Shelton was born in Ada, Oklahoma, and began singing at an early age. By age sixteen, Shelton had received a Denbo Diamond Award in his home state. At age seventeen, he moved to Nashville, Tennessee in pursuit of a recording career.

Musical career

Blake Shelton

After several years in Nashville, he signed to Giant Records in 1998. In 2001, he was slated to release a song entitled "I Wanna Talk About Me" as a single. Staff at the label considered the song unsuitable for a lead-off single, however, and the song was eventually recorded by Toby Keith, whose version was a Number One hit. ^[2]

Instead, Giant released "Austin" as Shelton's debut single. Shortly after its release, however, Giant Records was dissolved, and Shelton was transferred to Warner Bros. Records, the parent company. "Austin" went on to spend five weeks at Number One on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) charts. This song was the single from his self-titled debut album, which also produced the #18-peaking "All Over Me" and the #14-peaking "Ol' Red", the latter of which was a cover version of a George Jones song. Although Shelton's rendition was not a major radio hit, he considers it his signature song, and it has become popular in concert. ^[3] Blake Shelton is certified gold by the RIAA.

The Dreamer

Shelton's second album, The Dreamer , was first released on February 4, 2003 on Warner Bros. Records. Its lead-off single, "The Baby", reached Number One on the country charts, holding that position for three weeks. Although the second and third singles ("Heavy Liftin'" and "Playboys of the Southwestern World", respectively) only reached #24 and #32, The Dreamer earned gold certification as well. He, along with Andy Griggs and Montgomery Gentry, sang guest vocals on Tracy Byrd's mid-2003 single "The Truth About Men".

Blake Shelton's Barn & Grill

Blake Shelton's Barn & Grill was the title of Shelton's third studio album, released in 2004. Its lead-off single, the Harley Allen co-write "When Somebody Knows You That Well", peaked at #37 on the country charts, while the follow-up "Some Beach" went on to become his third Number One hit, holding the Number One position for four weeks. This single was followed by a cover of Conway Twitty's 1988 single "Goodbye Time". ^[4] Both this cover and its followup, "Nobody but Me", reached Top Ten for Shelton as well. As with his first two albums, Blake Shelton's Barn & Grill was certified gold. Accompanying the album's release was a video collection entitled Blake Shelton's Barn & Grill: A Video Collection .

On December 18, 2005, several of Shelton's songs, including "Nobody but Me", appeared on the TV movie The Christmas Blessing , starring Neil Patrick Harris, Rebecca Gayheart, Angus T. Jones, and Rob Lowe. Shelton had a small role at the end of the movie, playing himself at a benefit concert, singing "Nobody but Me".

Pure BS

Shelton issued his fourth studio album, Pure BS , in early 2007. Unlike with his first three albums, which were produced entirely by Bobby Braddock, Shelton worked with Braddock, Brent Rowan, and Paul Worley as producers for this album. Its first two singles — "Don't Make Me" and "The More I Drink" — were both Top 20 hits on the country charts, respectively reaching #12 and #19. Also in late 2007, Shelton made appearances on television shows: first as a judge on the talent competition Nashville Star , and later on Clash of the Choirs .

Pure BS was re-released in 2008 with three bonus tracks, including a cover of Michael Bublé's hit single "Home". This cover, released in early 2008 as the album's third single, became his fourth Number One hit in July of that year. ^[5]

Startin' Fires

"Home" was followed in August 2008 by the single "She Wouldn't Be Gone", his fourteenth chart entry and his fifth Number One hit, as well as the first time in his career that he had two consecutive Number Ones. "She Wouldn't Be Gone" is the lead-off to Shelton's fifth studio album, Startin' Fires , which has also produced the single "I'll Just Hold On". This album also includes "Bare Skin Rug", a duet with Lambert. ^[6] It was produced by Scott Hendricks, except for one track which was produced by Brent Rowan, and another ("I Don't Care", which carried over from Pure BS ) was produced by Braddock. ^[7]

Personal life

Shelton was married to longtime girlfriend Kaynette Williams on November 17, 2003. They were divorced in 2006. As of 2006, he began dating fellow country singer Miranda Lambert, whom he met at the CMT's 100 Greatest Duets Concert. ^[8] Lambert also sang background vocals on "Home".

Discography

Studio albums

Year	Album details	Chart Positions		Certifications [9] (sales threshold)
		US Country	US
2001	Blake Shelton Released: July 31, 2001 Label: Giant Nashville	3	45	US: Gold
2003	The Dreamer Released: January 31, 2003 Label: Warner Bros. Nashville	2	8	US: Gold
2004	Blake Shelton's Barn & Grill Released: October 26, 2004 Label: Warner Bros. Nashville	3	20	US: Gold
2007	Pure BS [A Released: May 1, 2007 Label: Warner Bros. Nashville	2	8	US: Gold
2008	Startin' Fires Released: November 18, 2008 Label: Warner Bros. Nashville	7	34

EPs

Year	Album	Chart Positions
		US Country	US
2008	Blake Shelton: Collector's Edition Label: Warner Bros. Nashville	27	157

• A^ Pure BS was re-issued in early 2008 with 3 bonus tracks.

Singles

Year	Single	Peak chart positions				RIAA [10]	Album
		US Country	US	CAN Country	CAN
2001	"Austin"	1	18		—	—	Blake Shelton
	"All Over Me"	18	110		—	—
2002	"Ol' Red"	14	101		—	—
	"The Baby"	1	28		—	—	The Dreamer
2003	"Heavy Liftin'"	32	—		—	—
	"Playboys of the Southwestern World"	24	—		—	—
2004	"When Somebody Knows You That Well"	37	—		—	—	Blake Shelton's Barn & Grill
	"Some Beach"	1	28	3	—	Gold
2005	"Goodbye Time"	10	73	18	—	—
	"Nobody but Me"	4	60	7	—	—
2006	"Don't Make Me"	12	79	34	—	—	Pure BS
2007	"The More I Drink"	19	102	48	—	—
2008	"Home"[A	1	41	36	—	—
	"She Wouldn't Be Gone"	1	43	7	70	—	Startin' Fires
2009	"I'll Just Hold On"[B	8	76	40
"—" denotes the single failed to chart, was not released, or not certified * denotes unknown peak posiitons

• A^ "Home" is only on the deluxe edition of Pure BS .
• B^ Current single.

Music videos

Year	Video	Director
2001	"Austin"	Deaton-Flanigen
2002	"Ol' Red"	Peter Zavadil
	"The Baby"
2003	"Heavy Liftin'"
2004	"Some Beach"	Peter Zavadil
2005	"Goodbye Time"
	"Nobody But Me"
2006	"Don't Make Me"	Roman White
2007	"The More I Drink"
2008	"Home"	Stephen Scott
	"She Wouldn't Be Gone"	Scott Speer

References

1. Blake Shelton biography
2. Bobby Braddock article
3. Blake Shelton: Celebrating Country Life
4. Story Behind the Song
5. Blake Shelton calls number one "Home"
6. New Blake Shelton Album Bumped to Nov. 18; Features Miranda
7. Blake Shelton readies fifth CD
8. Blake Shelton Talks About Divorce, Leaving Nashville And New Girl Miranda Lambert - Starpulse Entertainment News Blog
9. RIAA Searchable Database for Blake Shelton
10. Blake Shelton RIAA certified singles