Arizona Daily Star (Oct. 19th 2001)

Shelton's simple goal shattered by huge hit 'Austin'

Blake Shelton had a simple goal when he released his debut single, "Austin," early this year: chart high enough to lay the foundation on which to build a career.

Is No. 1 high enough? For five astonishing, almost record- breaking weeks?

"I never expected to have a hit of that magnitude," the 25-year- old Georgia native said last week from South Carolina. "My goal was to have a song that would get high enough on the charts that we could build on it, then put out another one and build a career."

To think Shelton almost passed on the song when he was recording his self-titled Warner Bros. Nashville debut album.

"I thought it was a great song, but I didn't feel like it was going to fit me," he says, noting the song was pitched as a piano ballad. "But the record company convinced me to go home and learn it on my guitar and try to make it my own. That's what I did, and it seemed natural after that."

Shelton and his five-member "all country" band will perform the song tonight at The New West. The fan reaction will likely mirror past shows, where the audience lends its voice and seems to know every word.

"The audience reaction on 'Austin' every night is just overwhelming. They're singing the song back to me, and that's pretty much full circle for me to have a song that people know," Shelton says. "Not only do they know it, but they love it and they sing along to it. That's pretty cool."

Lest anyone be tempted to label him an overnight success, Shelton is quick to note the years he spent toiling unsuccessfully in Music City. His day jobs included painting legendary songwriter Mae Boren Axton's house and making copies of demo tapes for a publishing company.

Axton and her famed son, the late Hoyt Axton, encouraged Shelton to keep his head up and forge onward.

Three years later, he landed a songwriting deal that led to his recording deal a short while later.

His debut album is brimming with confidence beyond his years - smart ballads like his latest single, "All Over Me,' and the sass- and-attitude ditty "Same Old Song."

But it is "Austin" that has separated Shelton from the other new kids on Music Row.

He was at home in tiny Ada, Ga., when he learned "Austin" had topped the charts.

"I was calling everybody I knew, and it turned into a celebration," he recalls.

The next week, when "Austin" repeated the feat, he continued the celebration.

Three more weeks of partying followed, and Shelton was a little relieved when the song finally slipped out of the top spot.

"I was like, man, I got to slow down, get back to reality here," he says with a chuckle.

Despite the early success, Shelton refuses to take anything in stride.

"I feel like I'm the luckiest guy in the world, and I wouldn't change anything," he says.