Country Weekly (May 18th 2009)

The Whole Truth

Blake Shelton sounds off on himself, Miranda Lambert, George Strait and so much more in this revealing interview.

Blake Shelton is one of the funniest, most genuine, down-to-earth guys you'd ever want to meet. CW caught up with the very busy singer/songwriter on his cellphone, while driving in his car to places unknown. His new single is the hilarious "Hillbilly Bone," which features his bud Trace Adkins. Read on and you'll find out stuff about Blake that you never imagined—including that he can say he's eaten crow, not figuratively, but for real!

What is the oddest thing that ever happened to you at a show?

A few years back at the end of a show, we were high-fiving people at the front of the stage and we got some stuffed animals, plus someone handed me a paper sack. I grabbed it and kept on going and when I got back to the bus, I opened the sack and an iguana jumped out onto my shirt! You talk about freaking out. I screamed like a girl and flung it across the room. I ended up giving it to my sound engineer.

What's a kid thing you did growing up that wasn't so well received?

I was maybe 10 and I put a frog in my mouth one time at a Fourth of July party. I had something to drink in one hand and a frog I'd caught in the other and I wanted to switch hands, so I put the frog in my mouth to do that. I remember hearing screams from my mom, tackling me, trying to get the frog out of my mouth. That's probably what's wrong with me today.

What is something about Miranda that we'd be surprised to know?

Miranda is 100 percent 26-year-old girl and she loves puppies and pink and for someone to tell her how pretty she looks. She's all about that stuff. Because of her music, some people think she walks around with blood dripping out of her mouth. She's not that at all. It probably blows people away when they meet her at what a loving person she is.

You just toured with George Strait—is there anything that surprised you about George?

That he's such an outdoorsman. He loves to hunt and fish, just like I do. In fact, he was getting ready to go out on a deep-sea fishing trip right after the tour ended. I thought it was great, because it's the same stuff I'm into. He's kind of a mystery, so to have that in common with him was really cool.

Do you have any unusual backstage rider requests?

I make it easy. I don't want a towel, I don't need water, I don't need a massage, just give me two things Bacardi and Sprite Zero—and you'll get whatever you want from me.

Did you ever get in trouble in school growing up?

I was in the generation who actually got spankings at school. At Latta Elementary School in Ada, Oklahoma, I was spanked with a big wooden paddle that had holes drilled in it so there's less wind resistance when it comes down on you. But I'll tell you this much, I definitely had it coming. I'm glad I grew up in a generation like that—if you messed up, you had it coming.

Tell about a scar you have and how you got it.

I have a scar on my wrist I got as a kid trying to cut a piece of rope. I was using a knife I had no business using and it cut me across the wrist. I thought I was dead. That's the most blood I'd ever seen before. I should have had stitches, but I didn't tell Mom or Dad. I just bandaged it up myself.

What's your very best beauty tip?

Never dry your hair, just let it happen.

Have you ever been asked to do a movie?

I get scripts now and then. The first few times it happened it was pretty exciting. You get pitched a script, you go to L.A. and have meetings and I decide to do it, then the movie never gets made. I finally told my manager, "I don't care what the movie is, tell people from now on, 'Yes, he will do it,' and save me the trouble." Then, if it actually starts happening, I'll look into it, but, until then, I'm tired of wasting my time.

What character on Gilligan's Island are you most like?

The Skipper. I get frustrated like he does with my life a little bit and the people that are around me.

Have you ever met anyone famous that you made an idiot of yourself in front of?

Earl Thomas Conley comes to mind immediately. He's my all-time favorite country artist. Back in '98 or '99, when I got my record deal, I had a chance to write with him—the first thing I asked my record company to do for me. The morning of the writing appointment I really wanted my mind to be sharp, so I drank a pot and a half of coffee before I left the house and by the time I got to his place I had to use the bathroom bad! He answered the door and I said, "Hey man, I'm Blake, can I use your restroom?" He probably thought, "Who is this moron?" I was just excited that I was using the same toilet that Earl Thomas Conley used.

Do you ever cook for Miranda?

I do, but she loves to cook, so normally if we're home, she wants to do all that stuff, which is fine with me. It's a big deal for her and she's a great cook. So is her mom, and I bet they'll make a cookbook together one day.

Do you have a food weakness?

Chips and cheese dip. I could absolutely, no question, live on that the rest of my life. I also love to microwave Velveeta, salsa and hamburger. It's delicious and it's all your major food groups. The salsa has the vegetables, then you have your dairy, the starch and your meat.

What's the best festival or fair food you've ever had?

Fried eggplant in West Virginia. Delicious!

What's the oddest thing you've ever eaten?

There's a season for crows in Oklahoma and I love to hunt, so Miranda's tour manager, Jordan, and I went out and shot a couple crows one day. We breasted them out and grilled them and actually ate crow just so we could say "I ate crow."

Do you make your bed every day?

Never, and what drives me crazy is now Miranda's taken over and you can't even see the bed because there's 18 million pillows piled on it. Then it's a panic every night to try and figure out which one is the one I like. I'd be happy with one pillow right in the middle so I can't confuse it with something else and wake up with a headache or something.

What's the most girly thing you do?

The music I listen to, like Gloria Gaynor, "I Will Survive," "Love Shack" by The B-52s or "Celebration" by Kool & the Gang. I crank that stuff a lot.

Has Miranda ever thrown something at you?

A shoe one time, but it was all in good fun. That's Miranda, though. She's like getting in a wrestling match with Trace Adkins—even when she's joking around, someone's gonna get hurt.

What would Miranda say is your most annoying habit?

No question, deer hunting.

If you could eliminate one thing you do in the bathroom so you'd never have to do it again, what would that be?

Putting in my contacts. It's terrible. I've got to get LASIK surgery, I just haven't gotten around to it yet.

Are you ever mistaken for other country stars?

The one I get the most is Joe Nichols. There were times people were actually upset with me that I didn't sing "Brokenheartsville." People also come up to me in the airport and say, "I love that song 'Impossible,' " and I'll say "It's good to meet you and, by the way, I hate kids." I want to try and mess up his career as much as I humanly can, to get more record sales.

You are really into Twitter.

I'm teased constantly for the language I use on Twitter, but my mom totally gets it, so that's good. If there's a hundred people at any given moment looking at my tweets and one of them gets upset, that's the one who usually writes in. I make it real easy for them, though—all you have to do is not read it. Some get offended but there are others that get turned on by it. Those are the people that I want coming to my shows, that's the fan base I'm trying to build—the ones that don't take themselves or anyone that seriously.

What's consistently in your garbage?

Beer and Sprite Zero cans.