Former Voice Coach Blake Shelton suffers HUGE BLOW for unexpected reason

Blake Shelton suffers huge blow for unexpected reason

The country crooner retired from The Voice in 2023

Blake Shelton’s newest album, For Recreational Use Only, has become the country star’s worst-performing album in his 24-year career.

The 48-year-old, who released his latest project in May, has seen the album debut at number 46 on the Billboard 200 charts, a far cry from his previous album Body Language, which peaked at 18.

Career low

photo of blake shelton on stage holding a guitar© GC Images
Blake’s latest album debuted at number 46 on the Billboard 200 charts

For Recreational Use Only was not released by a major label, perhaps explaining why the album did not reach the numbers expected for the Grammy nominee.

Despite this result, it debuted at number six on the Top Album Sales chart and eight on the Top Country Albums list.

Blake does not seem to be phased by the album’s performance, instead sharing that he planned to spend the summer relaxing with his wife, Gwen Stefani, and her three children Kingston, 18, Zuma, 16, and Apollo, 11.

Family ties

Zuma Rossdale, Gwen Stefani, Blake Shelton, Apollo Rossdale, and Kingston Rossdale attend Blake Shelton's Star Ceremony on The Hollywood Walk Of Fame on May 12, 2023 in Hollywood, California© Getty Images
He is a proud stepfather to Gwen’s sons

He revealed to People that he was “looking forward to the kids being out of school,” adding that the family “pretty much have [their] summers wide open.”

“We both have a few shows here and there, but nothing that’s tying us down to keep us from going and doing something fun,” he said. “We don’t have any plans, which is our favorite plan.” His wife Gwen joined him for a duet on his latest album, ten years after they met on the set of The Voice as judges.

Blake shared with the publication that the couple actually recorded two more duets for the album, but ultimately had to cut them. “We were both so fired up about both of them that we ended up holding one back for the next project,” he said.

Blast from the past 

Blake Shelton the voice© Trae Patton/NBC via Getty Images
The singer left The Voice in 2023

The “Nobody But You” singer recently returned to the set of The Voice to perform in the season 27 finale, two years after leaving the hit show to spend more time with his family.

“I did that for 23 seasons. To be totally honest about it, I wasn’t even planning on being there that long,” he said on The Jennifer Hudson Show. 

“I was planning on wrapping it up about 20 seasons or 21 seasons. Then COVID hit and I didn’t want to walk out on the show.” He added: “I stayed a little bit longer. I stayed too long for me to now miss it; I promise you that.”

Burning out

blake shelton on today show© GC Images
Blake shared that he no longer cared about album sales or chart performances

Blake later shared with People how being on the show led him to burn out due to the intense schedule. “It took about a year before I even was open to the idea of, ‘What’s next?'” he told the publication.

He added that it had taken time to get to a place where he didn’t care about chart numbers or album sales. “After 25 years of doing this, and the ups and downs, I don’t feel like I have anything to prove anymore,” Blake said.

“I used to be almost afraid of my success because I was afraid of losing it somehow. Maybe the worry kept me working hard and focused – but now it’s just fun for me.”