Blake Shelton debuted his new single “God’s Country” on Friday (March 29).
The song serves as the lead track for his forthcoming studio album, and was written by country newcomers Devin Dawson and HARDY with Jordan Schmidt.
“‘God’s Country’ is a song that has a strong and deep meaningful lyric, but at the same time it leaves it up to the listeners interpretation,” Shelton said in a statement. “But no matter where you are from or where you’re standing it is my belief that you’re standing in God’s Country. It’s really about a state of mind. Wherever you’re from and how you feel about that place. For me it’s about being from Oklahoma – where I was born, raised and still live today.”
The track has a slight bluegrass feel with acoustic instrumentation. A press release describes “God’s Country” as an “electrifying foot-stomper that connects the listener to their roots.”
Co-writer Dawson recently spoke to SiriusXM’s Storme Warren about the track, saying, “I’m so proud of the song and so excited that he wanted to sing it. HARDY and I both come from a metal background and it’s pretty heavy, but it still has the lyric that I need to chew on. It has heart. It really fits his voice so well.”
“God’s Country” follows Shelton’s ode to girlfriend Gwen Stefani, “Turnin’ Me On,” the Grammy-nominated “I Lived It” and previous hit “I’ll Name the Dogs.” All three tracks are from his 2017 album Texoma Shore.
Shelton recently wrapped his Friends & Heroes 2019 tour over the weekend. The trek featured Lauren Alaina and special appearances by the Bellamy Brothers, John Anderson and Trace Adkins.
Listen to Shelton’s latest below.