Blake Shelton invited to join Grand Ole Opry as show returns home after May flooding
Oklahoma country singer Blake Shelton, left, gets a hug from fellow performer Trace Adkins after Shelton was invited to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry during a performance of the Opry in the Grand Ole Opry House on Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2010, in Nashville, Tenn. The performance was the first to be held in the Opry House since the facility was heavily damaged by floodwaters in May. (AP photos)
The Grand Ole Opry returned home Tuesday night and invited Oklahoma country music star Blake Shelton to become its newest member.
The nation’s longest running live radio program came back to the Grand Ole Opry house nearly six months after devastating floods put the building and much of Nashville underwater.
The Opry’s stage sat under nearly 4 feet of water at the flood’s height in early May. But the radio program didn’t go silent: It move to various Music City to venues such as the Ryman Auditorium and War Memorial Auditorium while workers labored for 5 1/2 months to repair the Opry house, the show’s home since 1974.
Country legends and current stars took the stage Tuesday night for the “Country Comes Home” celebration, with Brad Paisley and Little Jimmy Dickens kicking off the festivities. The show opened with the Opry standard “Will The Circle Be Unbroken?” as the curtain went up.
The final two hours of the event were broadcast on the Great American Country cable channel and featured performances by Paisley, Keith Urban, Martina McBride, Trace Adkins and Shelton.
Shelton, an Ada native, received his surprise invitation to join the Opry near the show’s end. After singing their hit duet “Hillbilly Bone” together, Adkins seemingly began ribbing Shelton about his notorious Twitter account.
“You know Blake is famous for doing the Twitter thing; he’s always sending tweets. Well, the Grand Ole Opry sent Blake a tweet tonight,” Adkins said, handing Shelton his phone as the tweet appeared on the Opry backdrop: “Blake Shelton, you are invited to join the Grand Ole Opry! See you 10/23/10.”
The Tishomingo resident grinned widely and seemed speechless, finally taking the mike when Adkins instructed him to “Say thank you.”
“I know a lot of guys that want this as bad as I have wanted it, and forget them for now,” Shelton joked with laugh, as his fiancee, fellow country star and Tishomingo resident Miranda Lambert smiled and clapped from the audience.
“I don’t know what I ever did in the last year or so to finally turn Nashville’s head a little bit, but whatever I did, man, I’m loving this. This moment right here is hands-down the highlight of my career. Thank y’all so much; thank you Grand Ole Opry.”
It has been a year of highlights for Shelton, who made his Opry debut as a relative unknown in 2001. He and Lambert have emerged as country music’s new power couple, dominating the charts and awards shows. After five years of romance, Shelton asked Lambert to marry him in May, proposing in the woods near her Tishomingo farm.
Shelton this year has released two Six Pak albums, which feature just six tracks rather than the traditional 10 to 12, and scored two No. 1 hits with”Hillbilly Bone” and his most recent release, “All About Tonight.” The latter also debuted at No. 6 on Billboard’s Top 200 chart, making it Shelton’s highest charting record to-date.
In the past nine years, he has amassed seven No. 1 hits, including his back-to-back multi-week No. 1 singles “She Wouldn’t Be Gone” and “Home,” his five-week No. 1 debut single, “Austin,” and two additional multi-week No. 1 hits with “The Baby” and “Some Beach.”
In addition, Shelton will compete for four CMA Awards when the Country Music Association hosts its annual awards show Nov. 10. He is nominated for male vocalist of the year and has received three nods for “Hillbilly Bone,” featuring Trace Adkins. With “Hillbilly Bone,” Shelton and Adkins are vying for single (produced by Scott Hendricks); musical event; and music video (director Roman White).
Lambert leads the list of CMA finalists with nine nominations – the most for any female artist in the history of the CMA Awards. Lambert and Shelton were among the initial performers announced today for the CMA Awards, which will be broadcast live Nov. 10 from Nashville on ABC.
Shelton will officially become the Grand Ole Opry’s newest member Oct. 23.
Watch the video of Shelton receiving his Opry invitation:
-BAM
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Comments
No comments yet.
Leave a comment