Lets take it back to 2001 real quick, when Blake Shelton wowed the world with his incredible love ballad, “Austin.”
It was his first ever hit song, as it hit number one on the Billboard Charts, and even cracked the top 20 on the US Billboard Hot 100. To this day, it’s still arguably the best song he’s ever put out.
Yesterday, he posted a video reflecting on where he was at when he first found out the song went number one, and how reality hit that he was reaching country music stardom:
“I was actually at home in Oklahoma, when Austin became, officially became the number one song on the country music (charts), or at least my record label knew it was about to be, because they called me and they had me on speaker phone or whatever the promotion staff, and they’re like, ‘Guess what, congratulations! Your song is going number one!’
“I think I was in Ada, Oklahoma at my mom’s house, and the reason I was even there is because that was the week the album was coming out and they sent me out on this, back in the day you used to go out and do these in-store autograph signings, and they had sent me to my hometown Wal-Mart… I just happened to be in my hometown and that made it even more special.”
Man, Blake. For the love of country music, please go grow out the mullet and back to your OG style of country. I would give just about anything to hear the guy release a song that takes you straight back to the days of “Austin” and “Ol’ Red.”
Considering it’s been about 20 years since we’ve heard anything like “Austin,” it’s probably pretty unlikely. And since his new album is titled Body Language (don’t even get me started), my hopes aren’t high.
But hey, a guy can wish…
And of course, the original music video:
