Country Countdown USA (Aug. 24th 2012)

Blake Shelton’s Hollywood Home

This week, Lon Helton took Country Countdown USA to the Hollywood Hills home of Blake Shelton.  He told Lon that he rented the home while doing the NBC-TV show “The Voice.”  “When we signed on to do the second season of The Voice, I knew I was going to be out here a lot, and I wanted it to be interesting enough for Miranda would come, and that means a swimming pool, and lots of room for dogs to run around.  So they sent pictures of all these houses, and I saw this one, and thought, ‘Man, this is like pimped, she’ll love that,’ and then I got out here and it’s a little too much.  It’s painted like Italy.  But mostly it was about the pool and the outside area, and it’s an awesome house, but it’s a little Elvis-y for me.”

As you can see from the pictures, there are columns and marble all over.  This particular room where they did the Countdown is the media room. In the background, you can see an alcove, and there’s actually a stage there with spotlights on it. Blake said they used this room to record his new Christmas album: “It’s like a home movie theater that was built into this house.  It’s got a stage with a wooden floor and curtains. We were going to rent a studio, and I asked my producer to come here, and he thought this room would work.  So I ended up doing my entire Christmas album standing in this room on that stage.  Reba came over and did her song, Kelly Clarkson, Miranda, Xenia came here too.  We couldn’t get Michael Buble here. We did his in a studio downtown. I guess he didn’t feel comfortable coming to the house to sing a duet with me.”

As you can see, Blake and Lon did the Countdown sitting on the floor. The reason was the coffee table was only about a foot high, and the microphones weren’t tall enough to reach the couch.  Blake said, “We’re literally sitting cross-legged on the floor because the furniture in this house is so stupid. Are we in Asia right now?  What are we doing? In Hollywood, we don’t have furniture that’s usable, it’s just to look at. My glass and your recorder are probably the two heaviest things that have ever been on that table. It’s not meant to be functional.”

Here’s a look at the pool outside Blake’s house, and the view of the Hollywood Hills. Blake said, “I bet I’m the only guy within six or seven square miles of this area who goes outside to pee just because it’s funny to me to see how far I can pee down into the canyon. I still get off on things like that. I’m still country.  We should take a picture of me peeing! Like I’ve said before, I’m not trying to be a politician, I’m not running for office, I’m just a damned country singer trying to sell some records every once in a while!” By the way, we probably shouldn’t say this, but Blake’s wife Miranda Lambert was actually sunning herself by the pool, just out of camera view.