Shelton was born in Ada, Oklahoma, and began singing at an early age. By age sixteen, Shelton had received a Denbo Diamond Award in his home state. At age seventeen, he moved to Nashville, Tennessee in pursuit of a recording career.
After several years in Nashville, he signed to Giant Records in 1998. In 2001, he was slated to release a song entitled "I Wanna Talk About Me" as a single. Staff at the label considered the song unsuitable for a lead-off single, however, and the song was eventually recorded by Toby Keith, whose version was a Number One hit.
Instead, Giant released "Austin" as Shelton's debut single. Shortly after its release, however, Giant Records was dissolved, and Shelton was transferred to Warner Bros. Records, the parent company. "Austin" went on to spend five weeks at Number One on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) charts. This song was the single from his self-titled debut album, which also produced the #18-peaking "All Over Me" (which Shelton co-wrote with fellow country artist Earl Thomas Conley) and the #14-peaking "Ol' Red", the latter of which was a cover version of a George Jones song. Although Shelton's rendition was not a major radio hit, he considers it his signature song, and it has become popular in concert. Blake Shelton is certified gold by the RIAA.
Shelton's second album, The Dreamer, was first released on February 4, 2003 on Warner Bros. Records. Its lead-off single, "The Baby", reached Number One on the country charts, holding that position for three weeks. Although the second and third singles ("Heavy Liftin'" and "Playboys of the Southwestern World", respectively) only reached #32 and #24, The Dreamer earned gold certification as well. He, along with Andy Griggs and Montgomery Gentry, sang guest vocals on Tracy Byrd's mid-2003 single "The Truth About Men".
Blake Shelton's Barn & Grill was the title of Shelton's third studio album, released in 2004.[2] Its lead-off single, the Harley Allen co-write "When Somebody Knows You That Well", peaked at #37 on the country charts, while the follow-up "Some Beach" went on to become his third Number One hit, holding the Number One position for four weeks. This single was followed by a cover of Conway Twitty's 1988 single "Goodbye Time". Both this cover and its followup, "Nobody but Me", reached Top Ten for Shelton as well. As with his first two albums, Blake Shelton's Barn & Grill was certified gold. Accompanying the album's release was a video collection entitled Blake Shelton's Barn & Grill: A Video Collection.
Shelton was married to longtime girlfriend Kaynette Williams on November 17, 2003. They were divorced in 2006. As of 2006, he began dating fellow country singer Miranda Lambert, whom he met at the CMT's 100 Greatest Duets Concert. Lambert also sang background vocals on his cover of Michael Bublé's song, "Home". Shelton's version of the song was a Number One single on the Hot Country Songs chart.