Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani were open in the days leading up to 2024 that they would not be able to share a kiss when the ball dropped. With each of them booking New Year’s Eve gigs, the No Doubt songstress partied it up in Las Vegas, but there was some confusion among fans about where exactly Stefani’s husband rang in the New Year. Despite having a show scheduled in Oklahoma, the country superstar was seen on CBS’ New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash — a performance that one fan slammed as an “embarrassment to country music.”
Blake Shelton And Trace Adkins Slammed For New Year’s Eve Duets
It turns out that not all aspects of Nashville’s Big Bash were, in fact, live. Blake Shelton was joined by Trace Adkins to sing two of their hits together in pre-recorded performances that aired on CBS’ live New Year’s Eve special. The longtime friends (who have also traded barbs on The Voice) first sang their 2009 duet “Hillbilly Bone,” and while plenty of fans were thrilled to see the country stars rocking out, one X (Twitter) user slammed Shelton and Thomas Rhett, who also appeared on the program, writing:
WTF is this? Thomas Rhett and Blake Shelton sound like absolute ass. This is an embarrassment to country music.
Later in the show, Blake Shelton and Trace Adkins appeared again, singing “Hell Right” off of the former’s 2019 compilation album Fully Loaded: God's Country. Again, reception was mixed for the CBS audience, as one viewer posted:
Big fan of Blake Shelton and Trace Adkins. Their duet 'Hell Right' however, is one of the dumbest songs I’ve ever heard.
Other fans were still perplexed by the “live” aspect of New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash, because if Blake Shelton wasn’t in Nashville, where was he?
Where Did Blake Shelton Spend New Year’s Eve?
While many were watching the former coach of The Voice do his thing on CBS — seemingly from Nashville, Tennessee — Blake Shelton actually had a show at the WinStar World Casino in southern Oklahoma on December 31. Fans called out the country star on social media with one fan saying:
How’s Blake Shelton ‘live’ in Nashville for #CBSNashvilleNYE when he’s about to go on stage at WinStar World in 5min? He must have one fast ass tour bus!
Others had the same question, and CBS’ promotion of the live New Year’s Eve event might have had some ticket-holders concerned, as other comments included:
- So, CBS just saw promo about New Year’s Eve celebration in Nashville live. List of celebs including Blake Shelton but he is performing in Oklahoma tonight. So will you be going live to his concert or are some segments pre recorded? – jbirjay
- Is Blake in Nashville or Winstar Casino tonight for a concert? – dmitcheokstate
- I thought Blake was doing a show at Winstar Casino in OK tonight?? – Sharonh9959945
While there may have been some questions about Blake Shelton’s whereabouts — and certainly he can’t please everybody with his brand of country music — it seems New Year’s Eve was a win-win situation for the “No Body” singer, as he got to ring in the new year in his home state, while entertaining a larger audience via CBS’ special. It seems the only thing he was missing was Gwen Stefani!
Now that we’re firmly into the new year, take a look at the 2024 TV schedule to see when your favorite shows are premiering.
