Blake Shelton may be the longest-running coach on NBC’s The Voice, but that doesn’t mean the show – or his music career – takes precedence over his personal life. The country music superstar has been married to Gwen Stefani for over a year, which means he has had to shift his priorities.
Speaking with Entertainment Tonight, Shelton opened up about his relationship with Stefani and shared how he believes his wife and stepsons, Kingston, 16, Zuma, 14, and Apollo, 8, are of greater importance over his profession. Shelton even went as far as to say that he has stepped into a “new phase of my life.”
“Look, I love music, and I love The Voice. I love all the cool things I get to do with my job, but those things all take a backseat now to Gwen and the kids, and it’s just a new phase of my life,” Shelton told the outlet of his superstar wife and her three sons from a previous marriage.
Shelton’s “family first” mentality doesn’t mean he isn’t focusing on his music or The Voice, though. The 46-year-old hitmaker, who has achieved massive success throughout his 20-year career span, fully intends on fueling his passion until his fans say otherwise. But, instead of churning out song after song, he will likely be putting out music at a slower rate, as he says he is now in a place where he can enjoy a little bit of flexibility and freedom on the job.
“I wanna keep my music side of what I do alive from now till they fire me — fans fire me,” Shelton said. “The TV stuff’s fun, and it’s been great for me. It has actually helped pour over into my music. I’ve pulled an audience from TV that maybe didn’t even know who I was, probably didn’t know who I was when I started on The Voice, and it’s kind of been the thing that took me to a different level in my career, and I love that.
Most recently, Shelton released the music video for his most current single, “No Body,” which features him bringing back his ‘90s mullet. The tune, written by Rodney Clawson, Josh Kear, and Chris Tompkins, is his first single of 2022. Before that, he released his Body Language album in May of 2021. The project includes “Minimum Wage,” “Come Back as a Country Boy,” and “Happy Anywhere,” featuring Stefani.
“I’m having fun putting out songs when I feel like it, and luckily the record label allows me to do that,” Shelton said. “They always support it when I do it and my stupid ideas of doing a ’90s country video – they’re always on board, and because of that, we have a ‘God’s Country’ once in a while or a ‘Happy Anywhere.’”
“I just go, ‘Hey, I want to do this. Will you guys help me?’” He continued. “They’ll jump on board, and we’ve had some big records that way.”
As for The Voice, Shelton will mark his return for the Season 22 premiere on Monday (Sept.19) on NBC. The reality TV competition series will find him facing off against Stefani and fellow judges John Legend and Camila Cabello.
Shelton and Stefani initially met in 2014 while working on the set of The Voice. They became friends and eventually sparked a romance after separating from their respective spouses. Stefani divorced Gavin Rossdale, while Shelton split from Miranda Lambert. Stefani’s return to The Voice Season 22 will mark her first since marrying the country crooner. The happy couple tied the knot in July of 2021.
