Blake Shelton says that anyone who criticizes the lyrics for his new single, “Minimum Wage”, knows nothing about country music.
The voice coach debuted his “classic country love song”On New Year’s Eve, which received mixed reviews on social media. With lyrics like, “Girl, looking at you looking at me like that / It can make a man feel rich on a minimum wage,” Shelton sings about how priceless true love is. Some people call it “deaf”During a period of record unemployment amid the coronavirus pandemic, especially since the superstar is not in financial difficulty.
Shelton addressed the reaction by telling the CMT: “There are people today who don’t want to know the truth. They just want to hear what they want and want to start a fight ”.
“No matter what their intention is, no matter what the truth is, they want it to be something that bothers them, so they can get on social media and try to make a headline,” he continued. “With ‘Minimum Wage’, at first I thought, ‘Wow, I think I just missed something here.’ And the more I read about it, I realized that it wasn’t really real. Whatever the reaction, there are only four or five people who probably don’t know anything about country music. “
Gwen Stefani’s fiance said that no one was upset “clearly had not heard the song or read the lyrics”.
“If they did, they couldn’t feel that way about music. It’s literally a love song about how hard times are and you don’t have much money – as long as you have love and are happy – at the end of the day, that’s all any of us can really hope for, ”he said. “You can do it, if you can do it. That is all that matters. And if that is offensive to you, then we will have to agree to disagree. “
Shelton said he will “say goodbye” if people start getting weird.
“I have to say, if we have to start thinking like that, then I think that’s where I have to give up. Because this is one of the oldest traditions of country music: lyrics about love. And if you have love, that’s all that matters, ”he added. “There won’t be much left to play or write on country radio if it’s something we have to think about twice. So, I’m going to release the records that resonate with me and in my life and I won’t look back. As country artists and as an industry, we have to stay focused here and know that what is right is right. And I believe that this song is a great message and I am proud of it. “
After his New Year’s Eve performance, Shelton saw criticism online – but he felt he didn’t even “deserve an answer”.
“That’s why I didn’t go out initially and say anything, because they have no right to an answer from me,” he said. “This is absolutely ridiculous.”
During the interview, Shelton added how he “related so much to the lyrics” while struggling financially before he got along.
“As well as probably 95% of the artists out there, I struggled for a long time to survive. But at the end of the day, I wouldn’t trade those times for anything, ”he shared. “In those days when the big fight was: ‘Dude, do I pay my rent or my electricity bill or just say screw it and go buy beer?’”
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