Blake Shelton and his wife Miranda Lambert were big winners at the CMA awards this year. (Lewis Jacobs/NBC)
Blake Shelton loves Christmas music — so much that he listens to it year round.
“We have guests that come to our house every April, and they’ll come downstairs and find me listening to
‘Anne Murray’s Classic Christ-mas,’ ” says the star of NBC’s hit singing show, “The Voice.” “My wife [country star Miranda Lambert] has let me know that it’s a little weird and maybe I should wait until people have gone home before pulling out the Christmas albums.”
That love for the season and the emotions evoked by its music made it a foregone conclusion that Shelton would record a Christmas album. Producing a Christmas special for NBC to showcase the album was the logical next step, especially since Shelton’s role on “The Voice” has established him as one of NBC’s shiniest stars.
“The special came about because of the Christmas album,” says Shelton, a consecutive, three-time winner of the Country Music Awards’ Male Vocalist of the Year (Lambert matched him year-for-year in the female category, setting a record that will be hard to match). Shelton also is CMA’s Entertainer of the Year. “For the longest time, I’ve been kicking around doing a Christmas album. It’s a natural thing because I’m such a fan of that music.”
This year, he released “Blake Shelton: Cheers, It’s Christmas,” his seventh studio album. It includes such songs as a Christmas version of “Home,” a hit for both Shelton and Canadian crooner Michael Bublé; “Oklahoma Christmas,” which Shelton sings with Reba McEntire; “Jingle Bell Rock,” which he sings with his wife; “There’s a New Kid in Town,” a duet with Kelly Clarkson; and “Time for Me to Come Home,” a duet with his mother, Dorothy Shackleford.
Most of those guests will appear on Shelton’s special, “Blake Shelton’s Not So Family Christmas,” which airs on NBC tomorrow night.
The album, a little like Shelton himself, is country with a classic twist, recorded with a full orchestra. It includes classic songs, such as “White Christmas,” “Silver Bells” and “Blue Christ-mas,” as well as originals such as “Time For Me to Come Home,” which Shelton wrote with his mom.
Asked how his mother felt about singing on national television, Shelton says, “My momma’s a ham. It wasn’t hard to convince her at all. She’s not afraid to get out there and show off.”
Shelton’s equally famous wife, Lambert, was difficult to convince.
“She did a cameo on ‘Law & Order’ because that’s her favorite show, but otherwise she has no interest in television and she’s been pretty open about that,” Shelton says. “If anything ever happens with her and me TV-wise, it’s because I begged her to do it. This show is about music first, though, so that makes sense for Miranda.”
Shelton, who lives in Oklahoma, also will sing his hit, “Home,” rewritten by Bublé with Christmas lyrics. While Bublé does not appear on Shelton’s special, the two singers will team up to sing the duet on Bublé’s Dec. 10 NBC special (see sidebar below).
“That song has always seemed very Christmas-y to me,” says Shelton, “so I e-mailed Michael about rewriting ‘Home’ as a Christmas song. Two days later, he e-mailed me back and said, ‘I love this idea; I’m on it.’ About a week after that, he had completely rewritten the song. Then I had to get the nerve up to ask him to record it with me.”
Shelton and Bublé became unlikely friends and collaborators after Lambert pushed Shelton to record “Home” for his 2008 album, “Startin’ Fires.” The song had already been a huge pop hit for Bublé, and it quickly climbed the country charts.
“Miranda is basically the reason for the relationship with Michael,” says Shelton. “She loved the song so much and encouraged me to think about recording it. It became a big hit for me and because of that, I met Michael a few times and we’ve performed together. Then he became my team’s adviser on ‘The Voice’ this year. We both have similar senses of humor. I have a lot of fun hanging out with the guy.”
Speaking of senses of humor, Shelton’s known to have one that’s almost as big as he is tall – 6-foot-5 inches — and that’s not including his very full head of hair. The special not only is chock full of Shelton’s music, it’s also got skits sprinkled throughout, even featuring the lanky Shelton in a politically incorrect moment: He’s dressed like an elf in red tights and surrounded by little people dressed similarly.
Fellow “Voice” judge Christina Aguilera, and “Tonight Show” host Jay Leno also show up to strut their comedic stuff.
The producers weren’t afraid to get a little bit racy.
“I’m always interested in trying something new and seeing what I can get away with,” says Shelton. “There will be some things in this special that some people love and that some people will say, ‘Oh God, he just ruined Christmas for me.’ ”
While the show is called “Blake Shelton’s Not-So-Family Christmas,” family is really what the special is all about. Says Shelton, “Christmas has always been about family to me so having my mom and Miranda there — that made it Christmas.”
BLAKE SHELTON’S NOT-SO-FAMILY CHRISTMAS
Monday, 10 p.m., NBC