Sure Be Cool if You Did - Blake Shelton

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXmmXAUqfd8]

When did Blake Shelton decide to become an Rn'B artist? I mean lots of people have crossed boundaries over the years. Tom Jones' new single sounds like a folk tune, just for an example. Still, it's like Shelton wants to make this transition without letting go of his country side. It's weird, and the real reason I mention it is that it takes a song like this that I really like, and makes me dislike part of it.

Let's put aside the Roland Electronic 808 and 909 sounds that supplement the music at the beginning of the song. Let's put aside the fact that some of the lines in the song sound like they're stolen from an Usher song, "keep it real like chill". The thing that most bothers me is the way that Shelton performs the opening lines of the song. Once the song gets rolling, it's all good; I just don't like or understand the need for the stylistic change at the beginning. Also, just to be clear, I like Usher, but I wouldn't if he started adding in country music breaks into his songs.

Furthermore, Shelton's newest song, "Boys 'Round Here", takes the whole thing another step in that same direction. If you include the music video, it's at least two steps. The song itself is inching up on rap, and it's just a string of lines that promote this "country" way of life that has been adopted by a younger generation that doesn't seem to realize all the things that they brag about being country aren't really country at all. As far as the video for "Boys Round Here" goes, I lost interest as soon as it opened and I saw the bouncing car and jacked up truck, both of which on their own are equally ridiculous.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXAgv665J14]

As I've mentioned several times in the past, I'm not against the fusion of different music styles. I actually defended Jason Aldean's use of a bit of light rapping in "Dirt Road Anthem". On the other hand, I'm totally against Brantley Gilbert's song "Kick it in the Sticks" which is a blatant disregard for all things country in my opinion. Country isn't in a cowboy hat or boots, it's not in some honky-tonk or steel guitar, it's in the truth that's written in the words of its songs. We seem to be losing a lot of that for the parties, four-wheel drives, alcohol, and "chew tobacco, chew tobacco, chew tobacco, spit" that's far more marketable to younger audiences.