Blake Shelton reunited with recurring duet partner Trace Adkins for CBS' "New Year's Eve Live: Nashville's Big Bash." The pair sang their 2011 duet "Hillbilly Bone" as well as their 2019 collaboration "Hell Right."
As the broadcast's title implies, it was billed as a live performance. However, Shelton played a gig that night in Oklahoma, fueling social media skepticism.
One Twitter user quipped that Shelton must have "one fast ass tour bus" considering the segment aired around time for him to take the stage in another state.
Pre-taped or not, it was as electric a set as fans would hope.
Shelton considered Adkins an inspiration before the longtime "The Voice" coach became a star.
"Trace Adkins was the first name that I ever heard that was like, 'Hey, this guy just got a record deal.' I followed him very closely through the years before I ever got my opportunity to make a record. I felt like I had a lot invested in his career emotionally, just watching him," Shelton told CMT in 2010. "Obviously, I was a fan of his music. I mean he's a true country artist. Once I got my opportunity to start having songs out on the radio and things like that in 2001, Trace was one of the guys I was excited to finally meet."
Regardless of what state Shelton was in when 2024 began, he didn't get a kiss from Gwen Stefani. She was in Las Vegas to perform two shows at the Venetian Resort.
"Well, it's funny because I was going to be at his show, and then Vegas called and wanted me to be in Vegas," Stefani told "Today." "Last year I did Vegas and I was like, 'Remind me to never do Vegas again.' [But] you sometimes want to... not be the host... So I was like, 'Eh, I'm gonna do it.' If you're going to be working then I'm going to be working — so I'm just going to fly in and out it's going to be awesome. I'm really looking forward to it."
