Blake Tollison Shelton is a famous American singer and songwriter who is also known for his acting. Shelton is also a judge on several music reality competitions and is a renowned American television personality. Shelton made his musical debut in 2001 with a self-titled album; ‘Blake Shelton’ that featured the platinum Billboard Hot Country Songs chart-topping single “Austin”. He went on to give even more successful albums in the future including ‘The Dreamer’, ‘Blake Shelton’s Barn & Grill’, ‘Pure BS’, ‘ Startin’ Fires’, and a few extended plays.
Shelton also serves as a judge on popular singing competition shows such as ‘The Voice’, ‘Nashville Star’, ‘Clash of the Choirs’, having been a judge on the former since its inception in 2011. In addition to being an eight-time Grammy award nominee, Shelton has been felicitated with several awards including, 5 Academy of Country Music Awards, 8 American Country Awards, 2 American Music Awards, 1 Billboard Music Award, 9 Country Music Association Awards etc.
Early Life and Education
Shelton was born on 18 June 1976 in Ada, Oklahoma as the son of car salesman Richard Shelton and his wife , beauty salon owner Dorothy Shelton. Shelton was raised in the city of his birth along with his siblings; sister Endy Shelton and brother Richie Shelton, who died in an car accident.
Shelton learnt to play the guitar at age 12 and started composing and writing songs at age 15. He won a Denbo Diamond Award in Oklahoma when he was sixteen. She completed his primary and secondary education from Ada and moved to Nashville so as to pursue a career in singing, starting out with a job with a music publishing company with the help of Bobby Braddock who aided him in obtaining a music production contract along with Sony Music.
Career Rise
Shelton made his singing debut in 2001 with a self-titled album ‘Blake Shelton’ which featured the hit single “Austin” that placed at number 18 on US Billboard Hot 100 chart. The single also occupied top spot for five consecutive weeks on Billboard’s Hot Country Singles chart and was certified platinum. In 2003, Shelton’s second album ‘The Dreamer’ featuring the lead single ‘The Baby’ was released, which also became a chart-topper on the US Country Charts, remaining on top spot for two weeks and was certified gold. Shelton’s third album, ‘Blake Shelton’s Barn & Grill’, released in 2004 featuring the singles ‘Some Beach and ‘Nobody but Me’ was also certified platinum and was a major success. His next two albums ‘Pure BS’ and ‘Startin Fires’ released in 2007 and 2008 and were successful, with the former occupying fourth position on US Billboard 200.
Over the next few years, Shelton released a few more semi-successful albums such as ‘Red River Blue’ in 2011, ‘Cheers, It’s Christmas’ in 2012, ‘Based on a True Story’ in 2013, and ‘Bringing Back the Sunshine’ in 2014. Shelton also appeared in a supporting actor’s role in the US TV series ‘Malibu Country’. He started appearing as a coach/judge on NBC’s ‘The Voice’ in 2011 and has been a part of all twelve seasons of the show, since it first aired. In 2016, Shelton released his latest album, ‘If I am Honest’ which became a phenomenal success, having sold 153,000 copies within the first week of its release.
Blake Shelton – Divorce
Shelton dated Kaynette Gern for several years before the couple married in November 2003. The marriage was short lived and the couple announced their divorce in 2006. Shelton soon started a romantic relationship with singer Miranda Lambert whom he first met in 2005. The duo also sang together on Michael Bublé’s hit song “Home”. Shelton and Lambert dated for four years and Shelton married Lambert in May 2011. The couple divorced in 2015 after four years of marriage. In both cases, the reasons for divorce were not revealed to the media. In case of Lambert, the two issued a joint statement to the media, “This is not the future we envisioned and it is with heavy heart that we move forward separately. We are real people, with real lives, with real family, friends and colleagues. Therefore, we kindly ask for privacy and compassion concerning this very personal matter.”
Girlfriend
Since November 2015, the 1.6 meter tall Shelton has been dating his ‘The Voice’ co-judge Gwen Stefani.
Blake Shelton – Net Worth
Shelton has an estimated net worth of approximately $60 Million.