Blake Shelton, Trace Adkins team for ‘Hell Right’

“Hell Right” available Friday, Aug 19th

Country music superstar Blake Shelton has crossed the wide expanses of God’s country to find a Friday night somewhere in America where the drinks are flowing, the party is raging and all there is to say is “Hell Right.” His brand new single, featuring the legendary Trace Adkins, will be available this Friday, August 16th and will impact radio beginning Monday, August 19th. Penned by David Garcia, Brett Tyler and Michael Hardy, the latter of whom was responsible for Shelton’s most recent chart-topping single, “Hell Right” comes steeped in the rugged heart of “God’s Country” but tinted with the swagger of his biggest hits like “Hillbilly Bone” and “Boys ‘Round Here.”

“The thing that I love about what I’m doing right now, as far as recording and releasing music goes, is that I’m able to have an immediate reaction to something – and ‘Hell Right’ is an example of that,” Shelton says. “We had several songs cut that we had been excited about and still are, but when I heard ‘Hell Right’ I called my producer Scott and said, ‘I don’t want to rock the boat here, I just feel like we need to go in and cut this and see how it works out.’ After living with it about three or four days, I just had an idea that Trace Adkins would be perfect to have on this record with me. I’ve been saying for the last few months, I’m just recording songs that I want to make with no apologies, with no rhyme or reason, and I’ve been making them with the people I want to make them with. I’m just making records that I’m excited about.”

“What excites me about this song, other than the fact that it’s a bona fide hit record, is that it’s so infectious you can’t get it out of your mind,” states Shelton’s award-winning producer Scott Hendricks. “It’s one of those rare finds that could literally change the vernacular of how people talk. I can’t think of a song that caused a whole generation to say something differently. This song has the chance to do it. I think people will be saying, ‘Hell Right.’”

The new single follows one of Shelton’s most resonant smashes to date. His chest-thumping anthem (Billboard) “God’s Country” became his 26th No. 1 and held the reign for two consecutive weeks, in addition to seven weeks atop the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. It is currently nearing 180 million streams, pulling in more than ten million per week, and became the fastest country single in the past year to reach one million track equivalents. The “southern rockin’ foot-stomper” (Rolling Stone), which The New York Times named to its weekly installment of The Playlist upon release, just earned its RIAA platinum certification – marking the 16th platinum song of his career.

Shelton has also teamed up with country icon Garth Brooks for the duo’s “summer gold” (CNN) instant-hit “Dive Bar.” They recently performed the single together at a sold out Albertsons Stadium in Boise, ID for a 40 thousand-plus crowd. Less than two months into its run at country radio, it has dipped into the Top 25 and continues a meteoric rise. In addition to his collaboration with Brooks, Shelton has joined “King of Country” George Strait this summer for several special stadium performances and will make another stop in Foxborough, MA later this month.

Between select tour dates, working on his forthcoming album and filming for the next season of The Voice, Shelton remains focused on his Ole Red partnership with Ryman Hospitality. He recently opened a new location in Gatlinburg, TN and in May celebrated the grand opening of The Doghouse, a music hall and events venue expansion, at the original Ole Red location in Tishomingo.

Buddy Iahn
Buddy Iahn

Buddy Iahn founded The Music Universe when he decided to juxtapose his love of web design and music. As a lifelong drummer, he decided to take a hiatus from playing music to report it. The website began as a fun project in 2013 to one of the top independent news sites. Email: info@themusicuniverse.com