Garth Brooks Reveals Why Blake Shelton Does so Well Coaching ‘The Voice’

He might have the most wins on The Voice, but Garth Brooks says experience alone isn’t why Blake Shelton does so well on the reality TV talent show. In a recent interview, Brooks praised his “Dive Bar” partner for knowing how to encourage aspiring singers, mostly because Shelton used to be one himself.

“What I love about Blake is that Blake was coached by ‘The Man’ Bobby Braddock, the Hall of Famer. Blake got what it was like to be coached by somebody really quick,” Brooks told CMT‘s Cody Alan. “Bobby Braddock is one of the coolest guys on the planet, and then this young kid from Oklahoma is going to come in with his mullet, straw hat, and he’s like 7 feet tall. And, guess what? They’re going to start playing country music.

“I think Blake took that love and learning experience over to these guys who are coming in,” he added. “And, you know Blake right when you meet him. Blake is really cool at making you feel comfortable in your own skin.”

Brooks might be a fan of Shelton, but Shelton is an even bigger fan of Brooks. Shelton earlier recalled finding out Brooks was going to call him about a potential collaboration, and admitted he was anything but cool waiting while talking to his musical hero.

“He reached out to me back in April, just a day or two after the ACM Awards,” Shelton previously told PopCulture.com and other media. “We had a telephone conversation; I won’t say it was a disastrous conversation, but it’s awkward a little bit because he’s Garth, and I’m the guy that wanted to be a country singer because I saw his first television special. So that’s an awkward, in my mind, conversation because everything I said sounded something like, ‘Hey you remember that time you sang ‘Friends in Low Places’? Literally that’s all I thought.’

“At some point in the conversation, he said, ‘Man, I don’t know if you meant it or not, and don’t tell me if you didn’t, but the way you sang God’s Country on the ACM awards…’” he continued. “He was very complimentary in what he said to me, and I told him, ‘Man, I think you just mistook me for trying to hit some of those notes as passion.’”

Needless to say, Shelton agreed to record “Dive Bar,” which is nominated for an ACM Award for Music Event of the Year.

Photo Credit: Getty / NBC