Blake Shelton is one of the best and most popular artists in country music today. The country singer and songwriter cranks out hit record after hit record that climbs to the top of the Billboard charts and is a fan favorite for most Americans on NBC's singing competition — The Voice. Go, Team Blake! He is one of the voice coaches for contestants competing in blind auditions alongside fellow coaches, which over the years have included Gwen Stefani, Adam Levine, Kelly Clarkson, Christina Aguilera, Ceelo Green, Nick Jonas, John Legend, and next season, new addition Ariana Grande.
The Oklahoma native has become a Nashville icon and is so popular he was even named People's Sexiest Man Alive in 2017. Not to mention we're currently in the midst of The Voice season 20 and the Grammy winner has been a part of the series since Day 1 and has won the show multiple times with Cassadee Pope, Danielle Bradbery, Sundance Head and more.
The country star is best known for songs like "Austin," "God's Country," and "God Gave Me You." People know plenty about Shelton's music, but here are some facts about the superstar you may not have heard before.
1. Blake Shelton was in beauty pageants as a kid
Yeah. Blake Shelton did the same stuff as Honey Boo Boo. For what it's worth, he's not ashamed. His attitude is basically, "Yeah, I lived it, so what?" He also said it was a great way to meet girls. It's not necessarily the way we envisioned his first time on stage, but it's a good story.
2. He co-wrote "Over You" about a tragic family loss
Blake's brother Richie died in a car accident when Blake was only 14. (Richie was 24.) The song "Over You" was written about his brother. Miranda Lambert recorded the song, which won the Academy of Country Music's Single Record and Song of the Year awards in 2013.
3. He's collaborated with Pitbull
Shelton has collaborated with several country artists, such as Trace Adkins ("Hillbilly Bone"), the Pistol Annies ("Boys 'Round Here"), and, recently, Garth Brooks ("Dive Bar"). But he's also recorded a song with rapper and pop singer Pitbull. Those are two vocalists we'd never picture together, but it works.
4. He once owned a turkey named Turkey
Yeah, so Blake might be pretty creative when it comes to writing songs, but he's not always creative when it comes to naming animals.
5. He has an arch-rival...kind of
It's Maroon 5 frontman and former The Voice co-star Adam Levine. Levine is Shelton's biggest antagonist and loves trolling Shelton. After Shelton won People's Sexiest Man Alive, Levine, who won the same honor in 2013, sent Shelton a giant blown-up version of his cover. Levine has routinely trolled Shelton on The Voice and through tweets on Twitter. It's pretty great.
6. He has a favorite Blake Shelton song
Blake considers "Ole Red" to be his signature song and even named his line of honky-tonk restaurants after it. Currently, there are Ole Red locations in Nashville, Tenn., Tishomingo, Okla., and Gatlinburg, Tenn.
7. He's used to reality TV
Before The Voice, Shelton was a coach on Clash of the Choirs and a judge on the TV show Nashville Star.
8. He has some iconic influences.
Shelton considers George Strait and Garth Brooks two significant influences on his music.
