Blake Shelton took the stage on The Voice during this week’s episode of the singing competition, performing with former contestant Ian Flanigan. The duo performed Flanigan’s debut single, “Grow Up,” which was released on May 14 and features vocals by Shelton. Flanigan competed on Season 19 of The Voice as a member of Team Blake and finished in third place in the competition.
Flanigan began the performance with his signature baritone vocals before Shelton joined in on the chorus, both artists strumming an acoustic guitar as they sang. “Grow Up” was written by Jessie Jo Dillon, Chase McGill and Jon Nite, and Flanigan told Music Mayhem magazine that the song “is about celebrating life, and feeling young, no matter how old you are.” He added that he “couldn’t be more stoked” to release the song and that Shelton’s feature “happened pretty organically.”
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“After I signed with [record label] Reviver [Music Group], we were focusing on recording this single,” Flanigan shared. “As we were moving closer to recording, we thought it would be awesome if Blake would want to jump on the track. We reached out to see if he had any interest, and he did! Blake has a history of helping previous contestants from the show and I’m so grateful for his generosity and that the timing worked out for us to do this.”
The New York native added that it is “always an absolute pleasure” to work with Shelton and that he is “a huge fan of his music and him as a person.” “He’s great to hang with, and a real pro in the studio,” Flanigan gushed. “This time around there were a lot less cameras and it was good to catch up with him outside of The Voice. When you’re working with Blake, it doesn’t take long for him to get the work done. He’s got one of those voices that just tracks so easily and sits really well in a mix right away.”
He admitted that “It’s still hard to believe that this experience is happening for me, I just try to be present, and grateful in these situations. I’m always aware of what an honor it is. Blake was very generous with his time in the studio. Being such a busy guy, to cut out the time to make this happen really shows his character, and his dedication to helping other artists. I’m thankful to call him a friend.”
