The Blade (Aug. 31st 2006)

Blake Shelton: Low-key country star

Blake Shelton has always had a giving heart, helping out whenever he gets a chance.

Not long ago, he and fellow country artists Tracy Byrd and Keith Anderson and a couple of others raised $108,000 to aid residents in his home state of Oklahoma after a series of devastating wildfires.

Recently, as Shelton motored down the road in his bus headed to Beaver Dam, Wis., the latest object of his charity chimed in with several loud barks.

"Sorry, that's my brain-dead dog. It's a mutt we found on the side of the highway back in May," he said of his buddy, Gypsy, who's part Labrador, part something else, and maybe even part something else. "She went from being homeless and dying to being a spoiled brat."

If it seems like Shelton has been around for a while, it's because he has. He turned 30 in June, but he's been in Nashville since he was 17. In 2001, Radio and Records named him its "Breakthrough Artist of the Year" after his mega-hit "Austin" introduced him to country.

But if he seems like he's a country music star you don't hear very much about, well, that's probably also true.

"I'm kind of one of those guys who, when the media look at me, they just kind of see someone who wears a cowboy hat and boots," he said. "I guess what's most exciting to me is that a country guy from Oklahoma has been able to do this and have success. I've been flying under the radar, but when people finally realize and recognize the things I've done, it will be a lot more exciting. But if they don't, heck, I don't care. The fans have always recognized me, and that's who I play for."

Saturday night, he'll be playing for some of those fans at the Hancock County fair, where he'll play a concert at 8.

Shelton may not draw a lot of attention to himself, but it's increasingly difficult for artists to stay in the spotlight these days. It used to be that artists would release at least one album every year. Now, singles are staying on the charts for as long as six months, which means it takes almost two years to get through the typical three singles per album.

That's what's happened to Shelton. His album "Barn and Grill" was released more than two years ago. The singles "Some Beach," "Goodbye Time," and "Nobody Like Me" have all been hits, but it's hard to maintain momentum during such a long period.

"We've been itching to change up the live show, but there's no good reason to until people can hear the new stuff," he said.

Fans will get that chance in October when Shelton comes out with a single from a new album, which will be released next year.

He said the new album will be a little more mature than its predecessor. "I'm just changing as a person, you know? I was about 22 when I started working on my first album. Now I'm 30. I'm growing up, experiencing new things, and that reflects in my music. This album is probably more about heartache, hard times, the normal emotions people go through."

And much of it has been driven by the breaking up of his marriage to Kaynette, his longtime friend and road manager. He asked her for a divorce almost six months ago.

"It's been tough. I keep thinking that it will get easier. She's still one of my best friends in the world," he says. "But she's trying to go on with her life, and so am I."

So he's growing wise to the ways of the world and, with his fourth album coming out, he's now a true country music veteran. So he has probably figured out the music business too, right?

"You'd think I'd be learning," he says with a chuckle. "But I'm more confused than I've ever been. There's no science to this. It's just one opinion after another. No matter how cool you think you are, it's still in the hands of the people out there. All you can do is record the music you love, and hope for the best."