Blake Shelton

Blake Tollison Shelton was the son of a used car dealer named Richard and beauty salon owner named Dorothy. He was born on June 18, 1976 in Milburn, Oklahoma where he began singing in his bedroom at the age of eight. His mother entered him to a singing contest against a lot of little girls and he was glad of the experience despite being embarrassed.

At the age of 17, Blake met songwriter Mae Boren Axton who was so impressed of his talent. She recommended him to move to Nashville, Tennessee. Blake followed her advice right after graduating from high school, but he did not realize how quickly fame came to him. His first job in the town may be painting Mae's house wall, but he signed to Giant Records not long after that.

However, it was not a smooth sail for Blake to release his debut album. He was due to release a single called "I Wanna Talk About Me" in 2001 but a label executive thought it was not suitable for a lead-off single so he ditched it. Later, Toby Keith recorded the song and it became number one hit. Nevertheless, Blake struck his own luck with "Austin".

Giant Records was closed not long after the single's release but Blake was transferred to Warner Bros. Records first. The single was number one on Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks for five weeks. Finally his debut album was released on July 3, 2001, three years after he came to Nashville. The self-titled album was certified gold by RIAA.

He was back in 2003 with another album called "The Dreamer". The lead single "The Baby" reached number one on the country charts and remained in the position for three weeks. Meanwhile, the album only got to number two because the other singles were not as successful as "The Baby".

"Barn and Grill" was released as his third album in 2004. It was stalled by less than stellar single "When Somebody Knows You That Well" but was saved by "Some Beach". Blake married his longtime girlfriend Kaynette Williams on November 17, 2003 but they were divorced in 2006. In the same year, he began dating Miranda Lambert.

His fourth album "Pure BS", which was released in 2007, spawned another number one single "Home". Shelton worked with Bobby Braddock, Brent Rowan, and Paul Worley as producers for this album. "Home" is a cover of Michael Buble's hit of the same name.

During late 2007, Blake kept himself busy with TV appearances such as "Nashville Star" and "Clash of the Choirs" where he became one of the judges.

"She Wouldn't Be Gone" is the lead-off to Shelton's fifth studio album, "Startin' Fires", which was dropped in 2008. It produced the single "I'll Just Hold On" and contained a duet single with Miranda, "Bare Skin Rug". He proposed to her in May 2010 after dating for four years. From then on, he did more high-profiled duets such as "Hillbilly Bone" with Trace Adkins. He was then inducted formally to Grand Ole Opry in September 2010 by Adkins.

Blake's first greatest hits album, "Loaded: The Best of Blake Shelton" was then released in November 2010 and he appeared on the 44th Annual Country Music Awards in the same month. At the awards-giving event, Blake was awarded Male Vocalist of the Year.

Blake's star was shining even brighter in 2011 when he signed up as one of the four judges of singing talent search "The Voice" on NBC. He also married Miranda in May in Boerne, Texas. He took a chance of the publicity to release an album called "Red River Blue" on July 12, 2011. Lead single "Honey Bee" was certified gold in its seventh week, fastest gold certification by a male country singer.

In 2012, Blake and Miranda performed together at the Super Bowl XLVI. In the weeks following the performance, Shelton signed on for season 3 of "The Voice". He also released a holiday album, "Cheers, It's Christmas", in October 2012.

In 2013, Blake released his eighth studio album, "Based on a True Story...", and entered his fourth season as a judge/coach on the hit reality television series "The Voice". On the show, he appeared alongside returning coach Adam Levine and new coaches Shakira and Usher who temporarily replaced Christina Aguilera and Cee-Lo Green.

November of the same year, Blake picked up two important CMA honors. The Country Music Association named him male vocalist of the year and gave "Based on a True Story..." the award for album of the year.

In August 2014, Blake announced he'd release a new album called "Bringing Back the Sunshine". The album, preceded by hit "Neon Light", debuted at No. 1 on Billboard 200, marking the country star's second effort to top the chart.

In 2015, he announced his divorce from Miranda. After four years of marriage, the pair announced their split in July. "This is not the future we envisioned," the couple said in a statement. "And it is with heavy hearts that we move forward separately. We are real people, with real lives, with real families, friends and colleagues. Therefore, we kindly ask for privacy and compassion concerning this very personal matter."

It didn't take long for Blake to find a new love. A few months later, he's reported dating Gwen Stefani, his fellow coach on "The Voice" who also went through a highly-publicized divorce with her husband of 13 years, Gavin Rossdale.

Later that year, Blake and the No Doubt frontwoman confirmed that they were dating. Their relationship inspired new albums for both of them. Gwen released "This Is What the Truth Feels Like" in February 2016 while her boyfriend is set to drop "If I'm Honest" on May 20.