Blake Shelton brought up a very special guest to join him on stage for a rendition of “God’s Country” at his Saturday concert. The country singer made his performance at the Choctaw Casino & Resort in Durant, Oklahoma a special one when he welcomed 6-year-old Wyatt McKee up on stage to perform alongside him.
In a video of the encounter taken by Wyatt’s mom, Harley McKee, Shelton can be seen noticing the little boy sitting stageside. The Voice coach then reads the signs Wyatt is holding up revealing he’s waiting for a heart transplant after being born with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, a condition where the left side of his heart doesn’t grow.ย
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Shelton then gives Wyatt a guitar pick and welcomes him up on stage, where they perform the little boy’s favorite song together. Shelton shares the mic with his young fan as Wyatt sings every word of the song, and at the end of the special moment together, Shelton gives the youngster a big hug. Wyatt’s mom told TMZ after the encounter that her son, who has already had two open-heart surgeries, is a huge fan of the “Boys ‘Round Here” singer, and they brought signs about his condition hoping the star would see them and say hello.ย
“God’s Country” was a special song for Shelton as well. The Oklahoma native recalled hearing the song for the first time while out on his farm to The Tennessean in November 2019, calling the moment a “revelation.” He recalled, “It was the most shocking moment I’ve had in my 20 years of doing this. I was in a place physically that I consider to be God’s country doing the thing that makes me feel the most connected to God, which is working on the land. And I heard that song and I had one of those moments that you hear people talk about … where they say they pulled over on the side of the highway and listened. I literally had that moment.”
Shelton thought the song sounded like a “remedy” or “cure,” and immediately agreed to record that song, turning down even listening to any of the other songs on the table. “I was like, ‘Forget the other ones,’” he said. “I literally don’t care what else you sent me. Nothing has ever had this kind of an impact on me. Even before I put the vocal on it, it was just the sound that was the missing link to where we are in country music now and where we came from. It’s almost like a chance to stop and catch your breath and go, ‘We’re still all here. We still like this stuff, too, right?’”