Blake Shelton Unveils New Album Amid ‘The Voice’ Season 20

Country star Blake Shelton announced his first new studio album in over three years on Monday. Body Language will hit stores on May 21, and fans can pre-order the album starting on April 23. Notably, the album does not include any songs co-written by Shelton. During a recent interview, Shelton’s fiancee, Gwen Stefani, said The Voice coach no longer writes his own songs.

Body Language is Shelton’s first album of completely original material since Texoma Shore was released in November 2017. Since then, Shelton has released the greatest hits album, Fully Loaded: God’s Country, which included four brand new songs, including his duet with Stefani, “Nobody But You.” He also released another Stefani duet, “Happy Anywhere,” which will be featured on Body Language. Shelton’s single “Minimum Wage” will be included on the new album as well.

“Minimum Wage,” which was written by Nicole Galyon, Jesse Frasure, ad Corey Crowder, will be the first track on Body Langauge. Shelton, 44, premiered the song on New Year’s Eve and released the song to country radio on Jan. 15. In February, he released the music video, which was filmed at his Ole Red bar location in Tishomingo, Oklahoma. When Shelton played the song on NBC’s New Year’s Eve special, it was met with criticism on social media because some felt that Shelton, a musician with a net worth estimated to be $100 million, was “romanticizing” minimum wage jobs at a time when many are struggling during the coronavirus pandemic.

Although Shelton did not write the track, he told CMT the lyrics felt personal to him because he remembered the days when he was not well-off. He also suggested that critics “probably don’t know anything about country music.” He explained that “one of the longest-standing traditions” of country music is lyrics about love.

“And if you’ve got love, then that’s all that matters,” Shelton said at the time. “There won’t be much left to play or write about on country radio if this is something that we have to think twice about. So I’m going to put out the records that resonate with me and my life and not look back. As country artists and as an industry, we have to stay focused here and know that what’s right is right. And I believe this song is a great message and I’m proud of it.”

In addition to the new album, Shelton announced plans to release a special vinyl edition of his debut single, “Austin”/”Problems at Home,” which celebrates its 20th anniversary on April 16. The single will only be available on his website. Shelton is also a coach on The Voice Season 20, which airs on NBC Mondays at 8 p.m. ET. Below is the full tracklist for Body Language.

1. Minimum Wage (Nicolle Galyon, Jesse Frasure, Corey Crowder)
2. Body Language (feat. The Swon Brothers) (Colton Swon, Zach Swon, Matt McGinn, Ryan Beaver)
3. Happy Anywhere (feat. Gwen Stefani) (Ross Copperman, Josh Osborne, Matt Jenkins)
4. Now I Don’t (Jessi Alexander, Alyssa Vanderheym, Michael Hardy)
5. Monday Mornin’ Missin’ You (Jessi Alexander, Deric Ruttan, Josh Thompson)
6. Corn (Craig Wiseman, Matt Dragstrem, Chris Tompkins, Rodney Clawon)
7. Makin’ It Up As You Go (Brad Tursi, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne)
8. Watcha Doin’ Tomorrow (Dallas Davidson, Kyle Fishman, Casey Beathard)
9. The Girl Can’t Help It (Ben Hayslip, Josh Osborne, Mark Holman)
10. The Flow (Shane McAnally, Ross Copperman, Josh Osborne)
11. Neon Time (Jaron Boyer, Michael Tyler, Ben West)
12. Bible Verses (Joe Fox, Andrew Peebles, Brett Sheroky)