Blake Shelton singing the familiar "Whoa Black Betty, bam-ba-lam!" chorus from hard rock legends Ram Jam's obvious hit makes sense on paper. Except Shelton's not singing a honky-tonk version of a rock 'n' roll tribute to blues legend Lead Belly. Instead, the country singer's homage appears in Florida rapper Pitbull's song "Get Ready," a cut off Pitbull's 2019 album Libertad 548.
A brand-new music video for the song shows Shelton drop by as Pitbull narrates yet another party. To a country music fans' ears, the end result falls somewhere in between Shelton's pop-friendly work with Gwen Stefani and whatever you'd call Trace Adkins duet "Hell Right."
Consider the recent Super Bowl halftime show in Miami a sign that Spanish language artists, from veterans like Jennifer Lopez to such newcomers as Rosalia, currently dominate genres with huge audiences outside of Nashville's sphere of influence. So, furthering his reach as the country star from The Voice makes sense for Shelton, regardless of how many of his fans poke fun at Pitbull.
Even if the song makes enough sense, Shelton seems like a weird fit for one of Pitbull's nonstop parties at Ft. Lauderdale's recently renovated Hard Rock Casino. Per a behind the scenes music video, that's the point.
Read More: Blake Shelton, Gwen Stefani Share Video For 'Nobody But You'
Director Gil Green describes early scenes as "Blake (showing) Pit how they get down in Tennessee." Later on, the duet partners discuss how a party is a party regardless of its soundtrack while drinking lemonade on a country hideaway's front porch.
Shelton and Armando C. Perez (Pitbull) share songwriter credits with José Carlos Garcia (DJ Chino), Xenia Ghali, Jorge Gomez, Jimmy Thörnfeldt, Fernando Zulueta and Huddie "Lead Belly" Ledbetter.
If you'd rather hear Shelton stay in his country music lane, check out his second annual Friends and Heroes Tour. It kicks off Feb. 13 in Portland, Oregon and features support from Adkins, John Anderson, the Bellamy Brothers and Lauren Alaina.
