Cincinnati Enquirer (Jan. 16th 2009)

For one night, it’s just you and Blake Shelton

Blake Shelton had carved out a nice niche in Nashville when the country singer was offered a chance to take part in an NBC-TV holiday show in 2007.

Little did he know that his career would never be the same after "Clash of the Choirs" was broadcast for four nights during the week before Christmas.

"Going to New York before the show was easy," says Shelton, who is headlining a benefit concert Sunday night at the Aronoff Center for Sojourner Recovery Services of Hamilton.

"Coming home wasn't so easy. I got stopped constantly in the airports. My profile went way up. My career pretty much changed after that."

Viewers who tuned in to see Nick Lachey lead the Cincinnati choir to victory on the show might have been smitten by Shelton's self-deprecating sense of humor and good-old-boy demeanor.

"I didn't know crap about choirs," Shelton says. "But people know that I like to have fun and I'm not afraid to make an idiot of myself. So I'm glad I did the show."

The results were far from idiotic. Shelton's single "Home" hit the top of the charts last year. His fifth album, "Startin' Fires" released in November, is No.16 on Billboard this week. The single "She Wouldn't Be Gone" is No.9. Impressive numbers for someone who calls himself something of a rube.

Shelton might have simple tastes - "driving back roads, drinking beer, being outdoors" is how he describes life at home in Oklahoma in promotional material - but he is serious about the music.

Although dozens of people helped him record and produce "Startin' Fires," including longtime girlfriend Miranda Lambert, he'll be alone on stage Sunday night.

"I don't get a chance to play this way very often, maybe about three times a year," he says of the solo acoustic show. "But it's my favorite way to perform because, for better or worse, you don't have a net.

"Playing by yourself is the truest form of a song, and I'm proud that I can do that. This show is for a good cause, but selfishly this is a chance for me to get up there by myself."

Sounds like in the spotlight is where Shelton feels comfortable now, whether by himself or leading the choir.