The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (Feb. 1st 2007)

Shelton finally gives his fans ‘Pure BS’

Blake Shelton's upcoming album is pure BS. Really.

"Pure BS" is the name of Shelton's fourth album, which is due out April 3, and includes the single "Don't Make Me."

The "BS" stands for the country star's initials. And this album, Shelton says, is all about him and his best creative abilities, including his witty sense of humor.

"That's my favorite album title I've had so far," says Shelton, who will perform Friday night at the Pepsi-Cola Roadhouse in Burgettstown. "I've wanted to use my initials for some kind of promotion forever. ... I finally put my foot down and said, 'We're doing it this time.'

"I just think it's too perfect that it's my initials," Shelton says with a laugh. "It's got a lot of sarcasm. ... People are starting to catch on to my sense of humor, I think."

Shelton says "Pure BS" is the most authentic album he has done, and that it took him out of his comfort zone as an artist. He worked with his longtime collaborator, Bobby Braddock, along with new producers Brent Rowan and Paul Worley, and all involved had the same vision: to do something that stretched beyond the borders of previous work.

"I'm pushing myself as a singer more than I ever have before," Shelton says. "I'm really trying to explore my range."

The inspiration for this shift came from his hit single "Goodbye Time," an emotional ballad and remake of the Conway Twitty classic that was on "Blake Shelton's Barn & Grill," his album from 2004. Many fans, he says, told him "'I didn't know you could sing like that,'" and the comments surprised him.

"I don't really know what they meant," Shelton says. "It just bothered me some to know that there was something that had been missing in my music, and something in that song brought it out. Whatever it is, I wanted to push myself in that direction.

"It kind of got me excited to think, you know, maybe I could push myself more as a singer and see what I can do," he says.

As a result, "Pure BS" does not necessarily have more ballads, but it does have more vocal range. The songs also have more attitude, sarcasm, humor and passion in them, he says.

"I just think you'll hear me singing better than I have," Shelton says.

The changes in his music accompany changes in the recently but amicably divorced Shelton, who left Nashville last year to return to his native southern Oklahoma. He says he wasn't comfortable in Nashville, which felt too big and commercial.

"It's hard to be creative living here," Shelton says. "You start thinking about the music business instead of just the music; that's a bad thing. I just wanted to be back home."

Shelton also recently eliminated his long, wavy locks recently in favor of a shorter haircut, which he says matches his growing maturity and stature as an artist.

"When I see pictures of myself with long hair, it absolutely makes we want to throw up," he says, laughing. "I just think I look like an idiot. It's funny; you don't see yourself that way until you look back."