Spending 23 seasons as a coach on NBC’s The Voice, Blake Shelton quickly became a fan favorite. But when the “Boys Round Here” crooner finally left his big red chair behind in May 2023, a break was long overdue. Despite fans’ pleas, Shelton wasn’t budging on his decision to retire from reality TV. So then, what is the five-time Entertainer of the Year doing on The Road, which premieres tonight on CBS? Here’s what convinced him to once again step in front of a camera.
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Blake Shelton Wanted to Bring Something Different to Our Screens
“I’ll be honest, I wasn’t exactly dying to do another singing show,” Blake Shelton previously admitted.
But The Road—which premieres at 9 p.m. Eastern Sunday, Oct. 19—isn’t just “another reality show.” Far from the dazzling lights of Hollywood, the series follows 12 emerging artists opening for country star Keith Urban in music venues across the nation. In addition to exposing these musicians to life onstage, Shelton also wanted to depict the process of reaching the stage in the first place.
“[Executive producer] Lee Metzger and I started kicking around this idea: What if we built a show that actually looked like what it takes to make it as an artist?” said the 10-time CMA Award winner. “Sleeping on buses, playing for crowds that didn’t buy a ticket to see you, writing songs that may or may not pay the bills. That’s real.”
[RELATED: Meet the 12 Artists Competing on ‘The Road’, Keith Urban and Blake Shelton’s New CBS Show]
These artists will live and die (figuratively) by their audience, who weighs in on their performance after every show. Then, Urban and Shelton will take that feedback into account when deciding who to send home. (“Redneck Woman” singer Gretchen Wilson is also on hand as the tour manager.)
“The cool twist here is the audience was really the judge,” the “God’s Country” hitmaker told TV Insider. “Keith’s fans came to see him. They didn’t know who was opening. So if they didn’t like you, they could walk out, hit the bar, whatever. That’s as real as it gets. At the end of the night, if you can win over Keith’s fans, you’ve earned your spot.”
Tune into CBS’ The Road Sundays at 9 p.m. Eastern to see who walks away with a recording contract and $250,000.
Featured image by Trae Patton/NBC via Getty Images
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