Blake Shelton returned to The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Monday (May 13), delivering a rousing live performance of his current single “Texas,” just days after releasing his new album For Recreational Use Only, which arrived May 9 via BBR Music Group/BMG Nashville.
Accompanied by his longtime band, Shelton performed the rollicking, guitar-driven track, which chronicles a free-spirited woman who’s vanished from the narrator’s life, and is, in all likelihood, somewhere in Texas.
The track is the lead single from For Recreational Use Only, Shelton’s first full-length studio album in seven years. The 12-song collection includes collaborations with Gwen Stefani, John Anderson, and Craig Morgan, alongside tracks written by acclaimed songwriters Sarah Buxton, Zach Crowell, Shane McAnally, Greylan James, Pat McLaughlin and Bobby Pinson. The album also reunites Shelton with longtime producer Scott Hendricks.
Before his performance, Shelton sat down with Jimmy Fallon and revealed that collaborating with Post Malone helped reignite his creative spark.
“Post Malone kind of got me, a fire lit under me,” Shelton said, referencing their duet “Pour Me a Drink.” “You know, it’s been four years since I put out a record… And just being around him, you can’t be around that guy without having a good time. He’s just so excited about everything.” Shelton added that the experience pushed him back into the studio.
“I was like, ‘Man, what am I doing? I need to make a record.’ He had me fired up again.” As for Malone’s country pivot, Shelton didn’t hold back: “Now he’s, like, doing the country thing. I don’t want him to go back to anything else. I just want him to do country music.”
Following “Texas,” Shelton released a brand-new song, “Let Him In Anyway,” a spiritual-minded ballad written by HARDY, Ben Hayslip and Jordan Schmidt. The song paints a redemptive picture of a man asking for divine forgiveness on behalf of a friend who “never fully went all-in on redemption.”
For Recreational Use Only marks Shelton’s first album under BMG Nashville, following his departure from Warner Music Nashville after a two-decade run.