Blake Shelton and Taylor Sheridan’s new singing competition show, The Road, will begin airing this fall on Sundays after Tracker
Contestants will compete in front of live audiences while touring with headliner Keith Urban
“If young up-and-coming artists ever look to me for advice or something, I damn sure have plenty of it to give,” Shelton tells PEOPLE exclusively
Country superstars Blake Shelton and Keith Urban are teaming up in a big way.
On Wednesday CBS announced that their new singing competition series The Road — co-created by Shelton and Yellowstone‘s Taylor Sheridan — will begin airing this fall after Tracker on Sundays.
PEOPLE has a first look at Shelton, who was a longtime coach on The Voice, and Urban, a former judge on American Idol, on set of the upcoming show.
On the series, musicians hoping to catch their big break will join Urban on tour to secure a spot in the next town, performing at venues like Nashville’s Ryman auditorium.
“I spent a lot of my underage life playing in some seedy pubs, sometimes just for the bartender. So I love the idea of throwing artists into a real-world environment to find out if they are artists,” Urban, 57, previously said in a press release.
Related: Blake Shelton Was Burnt Out After The Voice. Then This Unexpected Celebrity ‘Lit a Fire Under’ Him (Exclusive)
In PEOPLE latest’s issue, Shelton, 48, opened up about collaborating with Sheridan on the project.
“I had been to his ranch, and I talked to him on the phone once or twice, just through mutual friends and stuff. [It wasn’t] until we started working on The Road when I’d say I got to know him,” says the “Texas” singer, who just notched his 30th No. 1 single ahead of the release of his new album For Recreational Use Only.
“When you get in the trenches with Taylor, it’s a completely differently thing when he’s in work mode. You can actually see the ideas, like smoke coming out of his ears when he’s working and thinking,” continues Shelton. “He’s such a visionary and creative guy, and he can’t turn it off. It’s amazing when you’re sitting there and you can see the wheels turning.”
Jason Kempin/Getty
Post Malone and Blake Shelton performing in July 2024
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Seeing the competitors on the show reminded Shelton of his own days hustling on the road before he became a superstar.
“They’re so big-eyed about it. They’re opening for Keith Urban at a bar, and there’s a huge, excited crowd in there waiting for some good country music,” he says. “I had those moments on the bus [back in the day] where the band would go in and soundcheck and I can remember asking, ‘Is there anybody even in there?’
“I don’t really feel like I’m in the race anymore. I don’t feel like I have anything to prove anymore, and it’s just fun for me,” continues Shelton. “If young up-and-coming artists ever look to me for advice or something, I damn sure have plenty of it to give.”
Read the original article on People
