Blake Shelton and Beyonce have more in common than most people might think. It turns out that the country singer is a huge fan of the pop-star. Shelton’s defended and praised the “Single Ladies” singer on several occasions.
Shelton stated in a 2016 interview with Rolling Stone that he can relate to the singer as they both dealt with relationship issues with music. Shelton, who divorced fellow country musician Miranda Lambert in 2015, commended Beyonce for using her music to help channel the pain. Beyonce used her album Lemonade to address heartbreak and infidelity. For Shelton, it wasn’t that easy.
“When I started going through what I went through last year, the last thing on my mind was making a record. I was trying to figure out how I was going to piece my life back together. And I figured out making this record helped me get that out of my system,” Shelton said in the interview.
Lemonade was released in 2016 to near-unanimous praise. Among its many popular singles was the country-influenced “Daddy Lessons.” The song is a bit of a different tune for the singer, as she typically sticks with R&B, pop and hip-hop. The country song did well on the Billboard charts and spawned a remix featuring the legendary country group, The Dixie Chicks.
Some country fans, however, were not pleased. Critics felt like the song should’ve been recorded in Nashville or written by established country musicians before it could be called country. Shelton, however, didn’t have the same opinion.
Blake Shelton, member of the Beyhive
While speaking with Entertainment Tonight, Shelton agreed that Beyonce’s “Daddy Lessons” was a nod to country music. The country singer himself saw nothing wrong with it. “People who don’t contribute to music that criticize music just blows my mind. Beyonce, I would tell them to kiss that [expletive],” Shelton commented.
The song was just one of the many thought-provoking tunes on the album. Other songs, such as “Sorry”, “Formation”, and “Hold Up”, tackled various issues, including infidelity and self-worth. It has also been credited for starting the trend of pop vocalists mixing with Western and Southern American aesthetics. Songs like Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” have crossed the barriers between hip-hop and country, bringing together two vastly different genres while somehow making it work.
Shelton is normally paired up with his partner, Gwen Stefani, rather than with the “Formation” singer, in the media. Gossip Cop recently dispelled a rumor that the two were engaged. An alleged source told In Touch that the pair were slated to make an engagement announcement. While the two have been together for quite some time, this story was completely fabricated.