Blake Shelton's For Recreational Use Only album is out now. Shelton loves every part of it, except the title.
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"I don't know if I love the album titling," Shelton admits on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, adding that he loves making actual albums. "But titling it has never been a thing. I mean, look at what the name of my title is. 'For Recreational Use Only.' It's ridiculous. It's just trying to come up with something that people will remember."
Included on For Recreational Use Only is "Texas," Shelton's 30th No. 1 single. The song is the debut single from For Recreational Use Only, which is his first record on BBR Music Group/BMG Nashville.
"It's been a few years since I've had a solo No. 1 single, and I'm super fired up about this one," Shelton says of the recent achievement. "I had no idea if 'Texas' would be a number one song, but the first time I heard it, I knew that it was something different and it sounded like nothing else I'd ever done before."
Blake Shelton's 'For Recreational Use Only' Album
For Recreational Use Only is Shelton's first record since Body Language came out in 2021. Shelton knew that the gap was long enough that the album might not have the success of some of his earlier projects.
"You can't step back and then expect to step back in, and anybody would still be waiting on you," Shelton tells American Songwriter.
When Shelton chose not to make another album, it was also when he was coming off 23 seasons of The Voice. In every way, Shelton was ready for a break.
"For a few years there, I was having a pretty hot streak in country music, and I happened to also be on the No. 1 television show at the same time," Shelton recalls "Trying to bounce back and be sure you don't lose momentum in this lane, but you have to do this job. You signed up to do it. And eventually, it did do a number on me."
It was after Post Malone asked Shelton to sing with him on "Pour Me A Drink" for his F-1 Trillion album, when Shelton realized he wanted to make music again.
"I started thinking, 'Man, what am I doing? Nobody gets to do this,'" Shelton admits. "I need to make a record. That was fun. What I realized is that I'd had the break that I needed."
