Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton are one of music’s hottest couples , but the fan favorite duo are currently going through a rough time after the death of their close friend Michael James Ryan, or “Busbee” as he was known to his pals.
In Touch Weekly reports that Busbee was a Grammy-nominated music producer and songwriter who has worked with many stars other than Blake and Gwen, including Keith Urban, Maren Morris, Pink, Florida Georgia Line, Lady Antebellum, Carrie Underwood, Christina Aguilera, and Shakira. He was diagnosed with brain cancer over the summer and recently passed away.
Busbee’s death prompted Blake to speak out on behalf of himself and Gwen about the pain of losing their friend.
“I absolutely can’t accept the loss of mine and Gwen’s friend Michael (Busbee). Too much to say for social media. Too much pain and unfairness period. I guess sometimes you gotta dig extra EXTRA deep for peace to continue to have faith. And I will because Michael ALWAYS had faith,” Shelton wrote in a moving tribute to his buddy on Twitter this week.
Stefani has yet to officially speak out about Busbee’s death herself, but her boyfriend’s kind words seem to be a statement from both she and Shelton.
Meanwhile, many other singers reacted to Busbee’s passing on social media, offering their love for the songwriter.
“Shocked and saddened by the news today that we have lost Busbee. I am so grateful I was able to have collaborated with him. He was brilliant and warm, with palpable joy for his craft. RIP, Sir,” Adam Lambert tweeted.
In addition, Maren Morris wrote that Busbee’s death seemed “unfair,” and that she was very luck to make songs and albums with the producer, telling her “sweet friend” to rest in peace.
Rolling Stone reports that Busbee opened up about his life in an in depth interview back in 2016, revealing that he felt extremely lucky to have a career in the music business as he gets to wake up to his lovely wife and children and write songs for a living, which is something that thrilled him each day.
Meanwhile, although Busbee had transitioned into country music writing, he started off as a pop writer, which is something he tended to label himself for a long time before helping to churn out multiple country music hits for some of the biggest names in the business.
Meanwhile, fans can see more tributes to Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani’s close friend by checking out Twitter.