Blake Shelton 'Stopped Everything' After Years on the 'Hamster Wheel.' Now He's Making 'Big, Big Changes' (Exclusive)

• Blake Shelton is back with new single “Texas”
• “The song just jumped out at me,” he tells PEOPLE exclusively
• The country star was inspired by her work with Post Malone earlier this year

When Blake Shelton announced that he was retiring from Vote Two years ago, fans weren’t entirely convinced he didn’t have a game plan in mind.

But while he wasn’t sitting idle – Shelton teamed up with close friend Carson Daly on their show Barmageddon – the country superstar, 48, has embraced a slower pace at home with wife Gwen Stefani and his three stepsons as he figures out his future.

“The last few years, especially since I retired VoteI was just kind of trying to be really careful about the next thing I’m going to do, and be careful about it and make sure I’m not doing things just because I’m more on the hamster wheel,” Shelton tells PEOPLE exclusively. “It happens, and before you know it , you say ‘My God, where did the last 10 years go?'”

After 25 years with Warner Music Nashville, Shelton signed to new label BMG earlier this year. The time off — along with “big, big changes” in his career — rekindled his passion for country music.

Blake Shelton Reveals 2025 Friends & Heroes Tour Dates With Trace Adkins, Craig Morgan & Dean Carter

“Honestly, it was just time for a new chapter. And I’m ready for it,” says Shelton, who releases his latest single, the uptempo “Texas,” on Thursday, Nov. 14, at midnight.

“When we first started down this path, the song just popped into my head. There was something familiar about it — and then something that felt like a step forward at the same time,” he says of the song, which could be his 30th No. 1. “It’s always on my mind: What’s something I haven’t done that won’t make people think, ‘What does he think he’s doing?'”

Post Malone and Blake Shelton.

Jason Kempin/Getty

Earlier this year, Shelton found an unexpected source of inspiration: Post Malone.

The genre-bending rapper and singer tapped Shelton for “Pour Me a Drink,” a fan-favorite collaboration that went viral when it dropped in late June.

“I’m really grateful to Post Malone for this new energy that I have because I’ve been complacent and not in a rush,” Shelton says. “Then this kid came up and asked me to sing his song with him. It took off and became a big hit this summer, and it reminded me like, ‘Hey, get up! This might be your last chance to really rock this thing.’ ‘ So here I am.”

Blake Shelton Announces Las Vegas Residency: ‘It’s Been Around For Years’ (Exclusive)

Shelton tried to tell Malone how much of an impact he made on him. “I don’t know if he believes me. Also, I don’t know if you’ve ever talked to Post Malone, but sometimes it’s hard to get him to focus,” he jokes. “I texted him once, and he replied, ‘Dude, stop it.’ He said something really nice to me, which I don’t want to spoil his image by saying he’s a nice guy.”

The singer — who has six ACMs and 10 CMAs under his belt — is always the first to give credit Vote changed his life.

“It was the biggest, most important career move of my life. I’ll always be grateful for that, and everyone who worked on that show helped me get to where I am,” he says.

But even though Shelton has a personality made for TV, Hollywood was never a place he saw himself staying for long.

“Really, and I mean it really he let go of not being on a television show anymore,” he says of his last few years. “It was just great to get back into the mode of, ‘Hey, I’m a country singer first.’ It’s what made me leave Ada, Oklahoma when I was a teenager. I never want to stray so far from what I feel like I was meant to ever do again.”

Besides catapulting him to superstardom, Vote she also led him to Stefani, who coincidentally is releasing a long-awaited album, BouquetNovember 15.

Kingston Rossdale, Gwen Stefani, Apollo Rossdale, Blake Shelton and Zuma Rossdale in 2023.

Christopher Polk/Getty Images

“It’s coming out the same day my single came out, which is funny to both of us. I said, ‘Well, at least we’re not competing with each other on the album … but we just want to take it one day at a time,'” Shelton says. “We want that it’s about our family – and then everyone else can get it back.”

Shelton remains protective of his peace, and as he prepares to record a new album (“They’re expecting a record at some point!” he jokes), he has some boundaries.

Blake Shelton and Taylor Sheridan are teaming up for a new series of singing competitions Time

“It probably drives my manager and the people who work with me crazy. I’m like, ‘Okay, book me here to do stuff, but leave my Fourth of July alone.’ And when it’s fall, I don’t want to do things, that’s my time,” says Shelton, who is also teaming up with Taylor Sheridan for the new singing competition series. Time.

“Of course, there are always exceptions, but for the most part I’m able to write my schedule, and that feels good because after all these years of doing what I do, I know when I’m really frustrated, and that’s how I protect it,” he continues.

He spends his favorite time at home, watching football and surrounded by his family.

“I’m still a big fan of the Arizona Cardinals. I told Gwen last Sunday, ‘I’m having the best day.’ We had a family, we cooked a good meal,” he recalls. “My team won. It was like, ‘I want to have this day every day for the rest of my life — just a relaxed family and watching football.’

Shelton is undoubtedly still one of country’s biggest superstars, but these days, he says, “I live a pretty simple life.”

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education