Cincinnati Enquirer (May 20th 2009)
Shelton calls Strait tour ‘coolest’ thing of his life
The significance of this tour is not lost on Blake Shelton.
"Man, it's the biggest break, not just of my career, but probably the coolest thing that's happened to me in my life," Shelton says. "I'll tell you what, growing up in Oklahoma, George Strait was the man. He's the coolest cowboy that's ever lived, in my opinion."
A multi-platinum-selling artist in his own right, Shelton rolls into town tonight with Strait for a show at Riverbend Music Center. Shelton, a native of Ada, Okla., is on the road in support of his latest album, "Startin' Fires," fueled by "She Wouldn't Be Gone," his fifth single to reach No. 1 on Billboard's country songs chart.
Shelton talked to us about music, Nick Lachey and celebrity.
Question: What, in your view, separates a good singer from someone who can sing professionally and have a career like yours?
Answer: Well, for me, when you say 'good singer,' there aren't really that many great singers out there. And I don't even think that I'm one. There's just a handful of great technical vocalists around. It's another thing to be a great storyteller and dive into a song or lyric and be able to tell that story and put enough emotion, enough heart into it that you can make people feel and believe what you're singing.
Q: You were one of the group leaders on 2007's "Clash of the Choirs," which also featured Cincinnati's own Nick Lachey. What was that experience like for you?
A: The only thing I regret about 'Clash of the Choirs' is, even though it was a short week there, I miss being able to hang out and talk to Nick or Patti Labelle, especially those two, and Michael Bolton. Who knew how funny that guy was? Nick is one of those guys who's in every trash magazine that you pick up, and you wonder what that guy's like? He always has a smile on his face and (is) just a great guy. That was my favorite thing about getting to meet all those different artists. I didn[sup 1]t know how I would be treated, and I loved it, although I do think Nick cheated. The bumblebee song he did ("Flight of the Bumblebee"), I think you should at least have to sing lyrics. I told him that, too.
Q: Your girlfriend, country musician Miranda Lambert, sings with you on "Bare Skin Rug" on "Startin' Fires." What's the key to staying together as a celebrity couple?
A: Surviving the celebrity couple thing, I don't know what the answer is. Because some days, you could ask me or her that, and we can't stand each other, and we're not surviving it, and there's some days where it's just the opposite of that.
I think we basically just have a pretty normal relationship like anybody else, with our ups and downs, and we don't really think about being apart, and that's probably the key. I don't think it's more looking for a celebrity you can date versus us just having the person we want to be with, and it just so happens we both do this (singing for a career).