After 23 seasons, Blake Shelton made the difficult decision to depart from his role as a coach on The Voice. While many country music fans predicted that it was because he had something big looming in his country music career, the reasoning was much simpler than that: the “God’s Country” singer was simply burnt out.
“The last couple of years, especially since I’ve retired from The Voice, I’ve just kind of been trying to be very mindful of the next thing that I do, be thoughtful about it and be sure that I’m not just doing things because I’m on the hamster wheel anymore,” Shelton told PEOPLE in November. “It happens, and before you know it, you go, ‘My God, where have the last 10 years gone?'”
Seemingly lost in life, the Oklahoma native revealed what — or should we say who? — inspired him to continue making music, telling PEOPLE in May that Post Malone, who recently transitioned to the country genre, “lit a fire under [him].”
According to Shelton, collaborating with Post on the smash hit “Pour Me a Drink” is what kickstarted his new wave of creativity, encouraging the “Sangria” singer to hop back in the saddle once and for all.
“I really credit Post Malone for this new energy that I have, because I was kind of just complacent and not in any hurry. Then, that kid came along and asked me to sing on his song with him. It took off and was a big hit this summer, and it reminded me like, ‘Hey, get off your ass! This may be your last chance to really take a big swing at this thing,’ so here I am,” Shelton gushed back in November, and it’s safe to say that these comments still reign true today.
He continued, passionately, “I don’t know that he believes me. Also, I don’t know if you’ve ever talked to Post Malone, but it’s hard to get him to focus sometimes. I did send it to him in a text one time, and he wrote back, ‘Dude, stop it.’ He said something super nice back to me.”
Thanks to Post, the 48-year-old has his 13th album, For Recreational Use Only, hitting music streaming services on Friday (May 9), and needless to say, country music fans are eager to see what will it entail.
The album will consist of 12 soon-to-be hit songs, including previously-released tunes “Let Him in Anyway,” “Texas” and “Stay Country or Die Tryin’.” The entire tracklist — including songwriting credits — are as follows:
“Stay Country or Die Tryin’” (Drew Parker, Graham Barham, Sam Ellis, Beau Bailey)
“Texas” (Johnny Clawson, Kyle Sturrock, Josh Dorr, Lalo Guzman)
“Hangin’ on” (Feat. Gwen Stefani) – (Sam Ellis, Charles Kelley, Greylan James)
“Strangers” (Michael Hardy, Zach Crowell, Jameson Rodgers)
“Let Him in Anyway” (Michael Hardy, Zach Abend, Kyle Clark, Carson Wallace)
“Heaven Sweet Home” (Feat. Craig Morgan) – (Chris Tompkins, Sarah Buxton, Jake Rose)
“Life’s Been Comin’ Too Fast” (Craig Wiseman, David Lee Murphy, Lindsay Rimes)
“Don’t Mississippi” (Shane McAnally, Ross Copperman, Ben Hayslip, Josh Osborne)
“All of My Love” (Colton Swon, Zach Swon)
“Cold Can” (Bobby Pinson, Josh Osborne, Andrew Deroberts)
“The Keys” (Jay Brunswick, Brock Berryhill, Bobby Pinson)
“Years” Feat. John Anderson (Pat McLaughlin, John Anderson, David Ferguson, Daniel Auerbach)
“After 25 years of doing this, and the ups and downs, I don’t feel like I have anything to prove anymore,” he says. “I used to be almost afraid of my success because I was afraid of losing it somehow. Maybe the worry kept me working hard and focused — but now it’s just fun for me,” he explained.
With a new sense of freedom and peace — wanting to create an album that’s “fun” over anything else — it is safe to assume that For Recreational Use Only will be unlike anything we’ve heard from the “Honey Bee” singer in the past.
Don’t just take it from us, though. You may stream the entirety of For Recreational Use Only when it hits music streaming services on Friday. In the meantime, you may keep up with Shelton on Instagram (@blakeshelton) for any further updates as well.
