Blake Shelton Re-Ups “For Many Years” With Warner Bros./WMN

Pictured (L-R): Warner Music Nashville Chairman & CEO John Esposito and Platinum-selling Recording Artist Blake Shelton

Country music superstar and multimedia entertainer Blake Shelton has inked a deal, extending his 17-year partnership with Warner Bros. / Warner Music Nashville record label.

Together, Shelton has gone on to achieve 25 No. 1 singles, 10 Gold and Platinum-selling albums, seven Grammy nominations and five CMA Male Vocalist of the Year Award wins. One of the most visible and constant ambassadors of country music, Shelton has reinforced the genre’s value in front of more than 12 million viewers two nights a week for 13 consecutive seasons and counting as a coach on NBC’s The Voice. A member of the Grand Ole Opry, Shelton served as co-host of the ACM Awards for five years.

“I remember my first trip to Nashville in 1994,” said Shelton. “I drove down Music Row and don’t know why, but when I passed the Warner Bros. building I said, ‘That’s the label I want to be on!’ Now, all these years later, I’m proud to have spent my entire recording career with such a great company. I look forward to more incredible years with my Warner family.”

The acclaimed recording artist celebrated his re-signing Wednesday night (Dec. 20) alongside WMN Chairman & CEO John Esposito, who added: “Blake Shelton is a cornerstone artist for Warner Music Nashville. Blake, Narvel Blackstock [management] and the whole label team put a stake in the ground years ago to prove that Blake was going to do unprecedented things in this business and be the artist to help us bring Warner back to greatness. Blake indeed has and will continue to break new ground. I am thrilled beyond words, and there is no better Christmas present than Blake committing to Warner for many years to come. He is a brother, and I love him and his humanity!” To that point, Esposito emphasized exclulsively to Billboard, “[Shelton] re-signed with us to basically end his career here. That’s a long time.”

Shelton last re-upped with the label eight years ago and most recently released his 10th studio album (not including a holiday or greatest hits), Texoma Shore in 2017, which became his sixth record to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and 11th all-genre Top 10. With his third No. 1 single in 2017 (in addition to “A Guy With A Girl” and “Every Time I Hear That Song”), Shelton’s “I’ll Name The Dogs” made him the first artist in Country Aircheck / Mediabase history to have six songs chart simultaneously. Shelton continued traction at radio this week by being named the No.1 most-played artist of 2017, reigning on both the Billboard and Aircheck year-end airplay charts. The songs previously went No. 1 on the MusicRow CountryBreakout Chart.

Shelton will headline his 2018 Country Music Freaks Tour alongside Brett Eldredge, Carly Pearce and special guest Trace Adkins. He will again team with CID Entertainment for VIP Experiences with 2018 packages offering new perks including an autographed ‘Country Music Freaks’ Tour plaque and an exclusive BS’ers Lounge baseball cap. VIPs will also get access to the BS’ers Lounge where Blake will perform an acoustic set and answer fan questions.

COUNTRY MUSIC FREAKS TOUR DATES
Date City Venue
2/15/18 Tulsa, OK BOK Center
2/16/18 Lubbock, TX United Supermarkets Arena
2/17/18 Las Cruces, NM Pan American Center
2/22/18 Grand Rapids, MI Van Andel Arena
2/23/18 Moline, IL TaxSlayer Center
2/24/18 St. Louis, MO Scottrade Center
3/2/18 Dallas, TX American Airlines Center
3/3/18 Bossier City, LA CenturyLink Center
3/8/18 Atlanta, GA Philips Arena
3/9/18 Greenville, SC Bon Secours Wellness Arena
3/10/18 Greensboro, NC Greensboro Coliseum
3/15/18 Columbus, OH Nationwide Arena
3/16/18 Baltimore, MD Royal Farms Arena
3/17/18 Philadelphia, PA Wells Fargo Center

[fbcomments count="off" num="3" countmsg="Comments" width="100%"]
Follow MusicRow on Twitter

Category: Featured2

About the Author

Eric T. Parker oversees operations and contributes editorial for MusicRow's print magazine, MusicRow.com, the RowFax tip sheet and the MusicRow CountryBreakout chart. He also facilitates annual events for the enterprise, including MusicRow Awards, CountryBreakout Awards and the Rising Women on the Row. eparker@musicrow.com | @EricTParker

View Author Profile