When Blake Shelton announced he was stepping away from The Voice two years ago, fans weren’t totally convinced he had no game plan in mind.
But while he hasn’t entirely been sitting idle — Shelton teamed up with close friend Carson Daly on their game show Barmageddon — the country superstar, 48, embraced a slower pace at home with wife Gwen Stefani and his three stepsons as he figured out his future.
“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 tells PEOPLE exclusively. “It happens, and before you know it, you go, ‘My God, where have the last 10 years gone?'”
After 25 years with Warner Music Nashville, Shelton signed with a new label, BMG, earlier this year. The time off — coupled with the “big, big changes” in his career — have reignited his passion for country music.
“It was just time for a new chapter, honestly. And I’m ready for it,” says Shelton, who drops his newest single, the rollicking “Texas,” at midnight on Thursday, Nov. 14.
“When we just started down this road, the song just jumped out to me. There was something familiar about it — and then something that felt like a step forward at the same time,” he says of the track, which could be his 30th No. 1. “It’s always in the back of my mind: What’s something I haven’t done that’s not going to make people go, ‘What does he think he’s doing?'”
The genre-bending rapper and singer tapped Shelton for “Pour Me a Drink,” a fan-favorite collab that went viral when it dropped in late June.
“I really credit Post Malone for this new energy that I have because I was kind of just complacent and not in any hurry,” says Shelton. “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 has tried to tell Malone how much of an impact he made on him. “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,” he jokes. “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, which I don’t want to ruin his image by saying that he’s a nice guy.”
The singer — who has six ACMs and 10 CMAs on his shelf — is always the first to acknowledge The Voice changed his life.
“It was the biggest, most important career move of my life. I’ll always be grateful for that, and everybody that worked at that show helped me get where I am,” he says.
But while Shelton has a made-for-TV personality, Hollywood was never where he saw himself staying long-term.
“I really, and I mean really indulged in not being on a television show anymore,” he says of his last couple years. “It’s just been great for me to get back in the mode of, ‘Hey, I’m a country singer first.’ That’s what I left Ada, Oklahoma when I was a teenager to go be. I never want to get that far away from what I feel like I meant to do ever again.”
Aside from shooting him to superstardom, The Voice also led him to Stefani, who is coincidentally releasing a long-anticipated album, Bouquet, on Nov. 15.
“It comes out the same day my single comes out, which is funny to both of us. I said, ‘Well, at least we’re not competing with each other on an album… but we just want to take over that day for one day,'” says Shelton. “We want it to be about our family — and then everybody else can have it back.”
Shelton remains protective of his peace, and as he gears up to record a new album (“They expect a record at some point!” he quips), he has some boundaries in place.
“It probably drives my manager and people that work with me crazy. I say, ‘Alright, y’all book me here to do things, but leave my Fourth of July alone.’ And when it’s fall, I don’t want to be doing stuff. That’s my time to be,” says Shelton, who’s also teaming up with Taylor Sheridan for a new singing competition series, The Road.
“Of course, there’s always exceptions, but for the most part I’m able to write my own schedule, and it feels good because after all these years of doing what I do, I know the times that I get super frustrated, and so I do protect that,” he continues.
His favorite times are spent at home, watching football and being surrounded by family.
“I’m still a huge Arizona Cardinals fan. Last Sunday, I told Gwen, ‘I’m having the best day.’ We had family over, 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 laid-back family and watching football.”
Shelton’s undoubtedly still one of country’s biggest superstars, but these days, he says, “I’m living a pretty simple life.”
