At his Hollywood Walk of Fame star ceremony Friday, Blake Shelton was both celebrated and shamed by three guest speakers that have loomed large in his life over the last dozen years, as “The Voice” host Carson Daly thoroughly roasted him, wife Gwen Stefani waxed lovestruck (still), and former fellow judge Adam Levine split the difference.
Shelton did not refrain from comic comments of his own. He mentioned that, as an aspiring singer from Oklahoma, getting a star on the Walk of Fame had not been primary among his career goals. “It was just never on my radar,” he told the assembled crowd on Hollywood Blvd. “I had a dream of being a country singer and hearing myself on the radio one day, and I never, ever thought that that path would lead me here. … So, like, this is shocking to me that this even happened. … I’ve been telling people for the last few weeks that I’m getting a Hollywood Square. ”
The singer especially thanked his manager. “If there’s one person that I probably need to thank more than anybody from a career standpoint, Narvel Blackstock literally changed my life. He got me to take my cowboy hat off. I mean, my God … and cut my mullet. You’re an asshole for that, actually, because that’s cool again. Now, I can’t go back.”
HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA – MAY 12: (L-R) Adam Levine and Blake Shelton attend Blake Shelton’s Star Ceremony on The Hollywood Walk Of Fame on May 12, 2023 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
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Levine, the frontman for Maroon 5, started his speech on a note of rivalry.
“Blake spoke at my star induction ceremony six years ago,” the singer said. “Six years ago, which is how many years ago I got it, which just means I got it six years before you.” He noted that Shelton was named People’s Sexiest Man Alive in 2017, whereas Levine claimed the title in 2013, “four years before he got it. I did everything that you did before you did it. You know, I was really conflicted about what I was gonna say when I got up here, and whether I was gonna make jokes and be mean and be a dick…”
“It’s clear which path you chose,” interjected Shelton.
“…and then right before I came up, I said, you know, I’m gonna go sincere. I’m gonna be nice because I love you. And I know I just made a bunch of mean jokes, by the way, so I kind of ruined that philosophy. But honest to God, and it makes me sick to my stomach to say this to you. I’m really proud of you, man, and I love you. … There’s no joke coming. There’s no joke. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you, and I love you and I’m proud of you. And even though you’re an idiot in so many ways, I just love you and I’m happy to be here and it’s an honor to be here for you.”
Levine added, “And one more thing I wanna say before I go, and I know Blake agrees: It’s time to get Carson Daley a star on this thing. Carson, he’s been on our TV for what, 30,000 years, and we’ve taken him for granted on an almost daily basis. Let’s go — Carson Daley, next year or next whatever, star on the walk of fame.”
Daly, meanwhile, was unrestrained in exercising his more irreverent side, taking his cues from the Friars Club.
“There’s been so much toasting, and so little roasting. We’ll see if we can change that,” began Daly. “I’m here to present my good friend Blake Shelton with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Which is strange because Blake does not live here or even like it here. After today, I assure you Blake will never see the star again. In fact, as soon as he leaves, you could probably dig it up and re-gift it to Blake Lively.
HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA – MAY 12: (L-R) Carson Daly and Blake Shelton speak on stage at Blake Shelton’s Star Ceremony on The Hollywood Walk Of Fame on May 12, 2023 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
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“Blake’s not a Hollywood guy. Once when we were shooting ‘The Voice,’ he was so homesick, I had to take him to a Bass Pro shop in Riverside just to get him to stop crying. I left him there for two weeks and he was happy.”
After joining “The Voice” for its first season in 2010, said Daly, “Somehow Blake would go on to become the biggest — and, weirdly, only — breakout star from ‘The Voice.’ … He would meet a co-star he would go on to marry: Cee-Lo Green… Blake dating Gwen was hard for many of us to believe. She fronted a ska band in Orange County. Blake wrote a song called ‘Hillbilly Bone.’ Gwen was unable to resist this hillbilly’s bone, and the rest is history. We’re not done.
“I had the honor of marrying Blake and Gwen a private ceremony on their beautiful ranch in Oklahoma. It was a beautiful sight. Gwen was decked out in Vera Wang. Blake was wearing jeans and a rifle. It gave new meaning to the term shotgun wedding… Some fun facts about Blake: he has 28 No. 1 hits. Seventeen of them are about a dead dog. Blake is the son of a used car dealer and owner of a beauty salon, which explains why he loves cars and wearing makeup. In 2017, Blake was named People Magazine’s Sexiest Men Alive, and in 2018 he was named Ebony Magazine’s Whitest Man Alive, the very next year. Not only is Blake a TV star, he’s a movie star. He played the Voice of Earl in the movie ‘Angry Birds,’ for which he was nominated for nine Academy Awards…”
US singer Gwen Stefani (L) speaks as US country singer and television personality Blake Shelton listens during his Hollywood Walk of Fame Star ceremony, in Hollywood, California, on May 12, 2023. (Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP) (Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)
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Stefani turned the roast dial to zero, for her part.
“Let me try to paint the picture of the little boy, Blake Shelton, who had a simple kind of life and a big dream growing up in a tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny town in Oklahoma,” she said. “The backdrop of his life was nature. He was in the woods all day long, not wanting to come home until it was dark. Knowing every name of every tree, every species of animal, with a soul connection to country music and what country music represents right there. There is no one more authentic than this guy. He lives and he breathes country music. He is a country music jukebox, and it is his DNA. He was born to do this, and hasn’t done anything because he wanted to be a star. He has just always been a star, from barely graduating from high school to roofing houses and then moving to Nashville by himself at 17 years old to chase the only thing he ever wanted to do in his life, be a country singer.
“With 28 No. 1 singles and 23 seasons on ‘The Voice,’” she continued, “Blake has always stayed true to himself. There is nobody like him. … He’s humble, he’s genuine, and trust me, wherever we go, everybody feels like they know Blake Shelton.”
Shelton allowed himself a moment of sentiment at the end, expressing his love for Stefani and remembering his late brother.
“I kinda stopped checking things off my list of great accomplishments in my life when I married Gwen, and so this is just icing on the cake,” he said.”That’s the greatest thing that’s happened along this, this journey.
“My family is all here, by the way, from Oklahoma, and I was talking to my mom this morning and I was just thinking about what I’m gonna say when I get up here. And she said to me, ‘I wish Richie could have been here to see this and everything that you’ve done.’ And I feel like that’s probably the best way to wrap this up. Richie was my brother that I lost many, many years ago. So I dedicate my star on this Walk of Fame to my brother Richie.”
US country singer and television personality Blake Shelton (R) greets US singer Adam Levine pose during Shelton’s Hollywood Walk of Fame Star ceremony, in Hollywood, California, on May 12, 2023. (Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP) (Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)
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