When Blake Shelton released his fourth album Pure BS in 2007, he hit No. 1 with on the Country shart with single “Home,” and broke the Top 20 with singles “Don’t Make Me” and “The More I Drink.” On the album there was also a deeper cut, “I Don’t Care,” that Shelton regretted never releasing as a single.
Though Pure BS went to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot Country Albums chart and peaked at No. 8 on the 200, Shelton’s lovelorn ballad never got its shot on the charts.
“Back in the day I wanted this song to be a single so bad I put it on two different albums,” said Shelton, reminiscing about the song on Instagram in 2022. “We never got to it and I still regret it. Thought I’d dig it out for y’all. It’s called ‘I Don’t Care.'”
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“I Don’t Care”
Written by Dean Dillon and Casey Beathard for Shelton, “I Don’t Care” was written from the perspective of a man who is still in denial about his feelings for a past love.
[RELATED: 4 Songs You Didn’t Know Blake Shelton Wrote for Other Artists]
There she was
Laughin’, talkin’, window shoppin’ with the new guy
And I’d heard about him
I heard she found him right around when we said goodbye
And I came real close and almost lost my temper
But I bit my tongue, kept my cool, ’cause I remembered-
I don’t care
She don’t matter
I don’t love her anymore, he can have her
I don’t know why it slips my mind
I tell myself all the time
Guess I forgot again for a second there
That I don’t care
After releasing “I Don’t Care” on Pure BS, Shelton gave it another shot as s single by included it on his 2008 album Startin’ Fires, but it still never had its chance on the charts.
Following Shelton’s Instagram post, fans declared the song a lost No. 1 for the country artist. “This song is real deal country tear jerker,” wrote one Instagram user. Another added, “This would be a number one.”
Photo: Stephen Lovekin / Getty Images for Big Barrel
