Blake Shelton Will Not Quit Music: ‘You Might As Well Poison Me’

Now that Blake Shelton has completed his time as a judge on NBC's The Voice, with his final show airing last week (5/23), he can focus on other aspects of his life like his wife, Gwen Stefani, and his three stepsons. But don't worry, Blake may have left The Voice, but he is not leaving music.

Shelton told People late last year after it was first announced that he would be leaving The Voice, that he wouldn't leave music. He said, "Walking away from music, you might as well just poison me or something. That's not something I can go without. I can't help it."

He continued, "I'm not getting away from music! Now I can control the timing, and I'm not on anybody else's schedule when it comes to making a record or touring. I can fit it in a way that makes more sense for us."

Blake said of country music these days, "I'm really at a crossroads right now. The country music lane is changing so rapidly, and there's some really good stuff out there. These young kids coming up, it's amazing to see the music that they're making and how creative they are."

He added, "I'm enjoying watching what's happening and putting a song out once in a while. That's another reason that I'm excited to get some time back away from The Voice and concentrate more on, 'What kind of record do I want to make? Is it going to fit in? Do I care? Do I not care?' I got a lot to figure out."

Recently, travelers with layovers in Nashville were surprised when they were having a drink or two between flights at Blake Shelton's Ole Red Nashville Airport Club, and Blake showed up to say hi and sing a song.

Blake came in wearing his casual tan jacket and a baseball hat. Shelton walked onto the small stage and thanked everyone for their support. He said it was the first time he had been to the airport Ole Red. He then sang "Ole Red," the song that inspired the bar's name, which has locations in downtown Nashville, Orlando, and Oklahoma.

The official Ole Red Instagram posted a video clip of the bossman's visit, writing, "Best way to spend a layover in Nashville." See that post here.

It's hard to believe how quickly ten years can pass. Ten years ago some pretty special projects from artists, including Blake Shelton, Lady A, Tim McGraw, and more, were brand new. Blake was on fire back then (as he is now), winning his one and only CMA Entertainer of the Year award the previous year (2012). In 2013 he won CMA's Male Vocalist and Album of the Year for his project Based On A True Story. It was the year we were just learning of a future Grammy darling named Kacey Musgraves.

Also, in 2013, Miranda Lambert won another Female Vocalist award from the CMA, and the CMA Musical Event was a song McGraw released with Taylor Swift and Keith Urban called "Highway Don't Care."

Sadly, it was also the year when country icon and Country Music Hall of Fame member George Jones passed away. Still, it was only the beginning for what was dubbed "Baby Antebellum" as Lady A's Hillary Scott gave birth to her first child Eisele. Now the trio has six children between them.

As we look at 2013 in country music, here are some of our favorite albums to come out that year.

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The second album from the Miranda Lambert-led trio Pistol Annies. One reviewer said at the time of its release, "A bluegrass-inspired collection that is nothing short of entertaining, even when the women complain non-stop about the men in their lives."

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The fifth studio album won a Grammy For Best Country Album. The album's standout single was "Downtown."

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Kacey's debut project, this album won the 2015 Best Country Album Grammy. It also took home Album of The Year at the 2014 ACM Awards.

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This album featured "Highway Don't Care," a duet with Taylor Swift which featured Keith Urban on guitar. Tim said of the project when it came out, "There's something special about this record to me, in the optimism that it has. I'm looking forward to more stuff than I've ever had happen before; there's more ahead of me than behind me. I feel like I've grabbed another gear."

This project was the 2013 CMA Album of the Year winner. At the time of its release, it was a career-best for Shelton selling 200,000 copies in one week. It was also nominated for a Grammy for Best Country Album in 2013.