The Boot (April 29th 2011)

Blake Shelton is ‘Looking’ for a party

Blake Shelton took time out from the recording studio to celebrate the chart-topping success of 'Who Are You When I'm Not Looking,' along with the song's writers John Wiggins and Earl Bud Lee, at a party at the Nashville digs of performing rights organization BMI on Thursday (April 28).

This song marks the eighth time Blake has hit No. 1, and he says he still feels ill at ease when his tunes top the charts."I can't get comfortable with singles going No. 1, because I'm afraid if I do, that will be the end of it," Blake tells The Boot. "Every single that I pick and put out there, it's like, 'Oh my God, people are going to hate this one.' Especially with 'Who Are You When I'm Not Looking' -- and [manager] Narvel [Blackstock] and [producer] Scott Hendricks can verify this -- I remember I had both of them on the phone and right before we released the single. I told them, 'Oh my God, I've had nightmares that we can't put this song out. The track is too sparse and people are going to think that 'Do you paint your toes 'cause you bite your nails' means that this girl is sticking her foot in her mouth and chewing on her toes?' I just had all these things that I was thinking about and I was talking myself out of it, and I do that almost every time, but I think that's a good thing.

"Every time I put out a single, my insecurities make me look at a song from every angle," he adds. "Finally between the record company and everyone else involved, they said, 'Blake, you just need to relax.This is a great song, and you've recorded it for a reason.' Thank God I've surrounded myself with people I trust, because I go out and find these songs, or however I end up with them on a record, I record them because I love them, then I talk myself into reasons why they shouldn't be singles. It's kind of a wussy thing to do, I guess! [laughs]"

Going back to the line in the song, 'Do you paint your toes 'cause you bite your nails,' Blake explains some fans, friends and family members have questioned the singer about it. "I thought that that would clear itself up after awhile, and I should have known better," laughs Blake. "When I first heard the song, I didn't even think of it that way. I immediately thought, 'OK, she doesn't paint her fingernails because she bites them, so she paints her toenails instead.' But then, my mom may have been the first one to go, 'Well, that's gross.' I said, 'What?' She goes, 'She paints her toenails and then she bites them?' I said, 'What the hell are you talking about?' Then looking back, I said, 'I can see it that way too.'

"I stopped thinking about it, and then I'll be damned, there was a T.J. Martell dinner [a few] nights ago, and I was standing next to Kellie Pickler," Blake continues. "I turned to Kellie, and I said, 'Kellie, I'd like to know, do you paint your toes 'cause you bite your nails?' She said almost the same thing that my mom said, which was, 'Man, I wanted to ask you about that. That is gross.' People still think a girl is sitting around sucking her toes like those old Monchichi dolls they used to sell. I'm glad that the confusion didn't hold the song back."

Regardless of the confusion regarding that one particular line, the Oklahoma native still loves the song. "'[Who Are You] When I'm Not Looking' is one of my favorite songs I've ever recorded," Blake told The Boot. "The first time I ever heard it, Joe Nichols was singing it, and he's such a great singer. At first I thought, 'Man! I love that song so much just because it's his voice, and it just sounds magical to me.' And then I got a copy of the original demo, [and discovered] I really do love the song."

Blake, who is catapulting up the country charts with his current single, 'Honey Bee,' will perform the song when he hits the stage in Fayetteville, Ark. on Saturday (April 30).