Blake Shelton reached No. 1 with the first song he ever released—”Austin,” off his 2001 self-titled debut album. It certainly wouldn’t be the last, as the Oklahoma native would go on to become an ambassador of country music. He has racked up 10 CMA Awards and nine Grammy nominations. His latest project, last year’s For Recreational Use Only, proved the five-time Entertainer of the Year hasn’t lost his touch as he approaches his 50th birthday this June. The album’s lead single, “Texas,” raced to the top of the country music charts. Now its successor, “Stay Country or Die Tryin’,” is following a similar path. This week, the latter hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart, marking the 30th time Shelton has reached that position in his nearly three-decade career.
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“Stay Country or Die Tryin’” rises two spots on the Jan. 17 ranking, putting Blake Shelton in second place on the chart’s all-time leaderboard. Passing up Tim McGraw’s 29 chart-toppers, the “Ol’ Red” singer now trails only Kenny Chesney, who leads all other artists with 33 No. 1 hits.
Luke Bryan, Alan Jackson and George Strait are close behind with 26 apiece.
Why Blake Shelton “Absolutely Fell in Love” The First Time He Heard It
Written by Beau Bailey, Graham Barham, Sam Ellis and Drew Parker, Blake Shelton added to his repertoire of rollicking odes to rural life with “Stay Country or Die Tryin’.”
“The lyric is just a bunch of almost phrases and things that are picturesque to growing up in the kind of backwoods and country, and that diehard mentality,” Shelton told American Songwriter last year. “It’s, ‘I know where I come from.’ That’s kind of how we are — a little very prideful, a little bit stubborn. And that’s kind of the guy in that song. There’s a pride to being a hillbilly and not going to town for any damn thing.”
The first time he heard the song, Shelton said it took him back to other career staples like “God’s Country” and “Ol’ Red.”
“I absolutely fell in love with it,” he said in a statement following the song’s April release. “I’m proud of this recording—and I love singing it live even more.”
Featured image by Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for Family Film and TV Awards
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