Blake Shelton Confirms a New Album Is on the Way

After releasing his latest single, "Minimum Wage," Blake Shelton has confirmed that a new album is on the way, sharing the news during an appearance on The Bobby Bones Show. "We're gonna come with a new album; this will be the first single off of that album," he said. "We're pumped about it." "Minimum Wage" is Shelton's first solo single release since 2019's "God's Country" and is currently climbing the charts.

In 2019, after releasing "God's Country," Shelton wondered whether he would ever release another album at all. "I don't want to put out an album. I really don't," he told Entertainment Tonight. "I'm sure that at some point, my record company people are going to pressure me into it, but as of now, I'm not putting out an album this year. I know that." "I'll be just as happy to release just another single," he continued. "I do [have more songs] and I've got other stuff that I'm pumped about, but when I think about an album right now, I'm like, 'Do people care about them anymore?' I don't know. But I'm having a blast just releasing singles. Maybe I'll do that from now on."

The Voice coach admitted that he initially wasn't even sure he wanted to release a song or go into the studio but was instantly affected when he heard "God's Country" for the first time. Shelton told Bones that he was on his skid steer at his ranch in Oklahoma when he listened to the demo, which left him "shocked" and "blown away." "I couldn't even believe what I was hearing," he said. "Because I knew that it was a game-changer. That nothing would be the same for any of us involved after this song from a career standpoint. And what it was going to do. In my mind, anyway."

"God's Country" was written by Devin Dawson, Jordan Schmidt and Hardy and gave Shelton another No. 1 single. It won Single of the Year at the CMA Awards and the ACM Awards and was nominated for a Grammy. It was included on Shelton's December 2019 compilation album Fully Loaded: God's Country and there is currently a television series based on the song in the works at NBC.

The Oklahoma native hasn't released any details about his next album save for the arrival of "Minimum Wage," which received some criticism upon its premiere. "If you can find something offensive about this song, you're looking for a fight, or you're probably not a country music fan, to begin with," he told Bones. "I really can't draw a connection between anything controversial and a love song."