Blake Shelton Announces New Single, ‘Hell Right,’ With Trace Adkins

Blake Shelton and Trace Adkins are teaming up together for a new single! The duo, who previously recorded “Hillbilly Bone” in 2009, are reuniting, this time for “Hell Right.” The song, Shelton says, is the perfect way to follow-up his recent No. 1 hit, “God’s Country.”

“It’s rooted from the same place that ‘God’s Country’ is and I love that about it,” Shelton told The Tennessean. “It’s not coming from chasing any sound. It’s what feels right to me right now. I think ‘Hell Right’ is going to take what we started with ‘God’s Country’ and take it to the next level.”

“Hell Right,” like “God’s Country,” was co-written by HARDY, and felt like a message Shelton wanted to share.

“You can go about it two ways,” reflected Shelton. “You can raise hell, or you can raise hell right. To me, that means you can set off a bottle rocket, or you can have a fireworks show. There’s always a next level of things.”

Shelton and Adkins have been friends for years, with Adkins joining Shelton on his Friends and Heroes Tour earlier this year. Although Shelton could have had likely anyone join him on “Hell Right,” he knew right away the only person he wanted to do it with was Adkins.

“I wanted him on this record because I knew there was a story to this song, but there was also a personality to the story that he could help amplify and take it to the next level,” Shelton said. “Trace is not only one of my best friends in the world that I would do anything for, he’s also one of my favorite artists in the world and one of the most unique sounding singers that has come through Nashville in the last 30 years. He brings a personality to his recordings that can’t be copied.”

Adkins has had his own share of hits over the years, but Shelton hopes “Hell Right” will shed a new light on his friend.

“The guy’s got so much personality in his voice and the way he sings, and I still think that he’s one of the most underrated country artists out there,” Shelton told Nash Country Daily. “I called him and asked if he would be on the record with me and he said something that was close to ‘hell right,’ but it was a different cuss word.”

Shelton recently opened up about his next project, admitting he didn’t know exactly what it would look like, or when it would be released.

“I don’t know about a direction,” Shelton shared with PopCulture.com and other media. “To be honest with you, I’m just having fun. At this point in my life and career things feel like everything is icing on the cake for me, at this point. All I want to do is make the records that I want to make, with the people that I want to make them with. Outside of that I don’t care how they package it or what they do with it.”

“Hell Right” will be released on Aug. 16. Shelton is currently on the charts with another duet, “Dive Bar,” with Garth Brooks.

Photo Credit: Getty images / Mindy Small