Blake Shelton Called Out For His 'Prerecorded Performance' at the Nashville New Year’s Eve

People are criticizing Blake Shelton on social media over his New Year's Eve performance, calling it a disgrace to the country music industry. Shelton and the 61-year-old Trace Adkins took to the stage to sing the song Hillbilly Bone, which they had recorded together in 2011. During their performance in front of an audience, the country singers performed close to one another, like two old friends. Despite the circumstances, some fans were overjoyed to see the pair play live again, while others were incensed that it was a pre-recorded performance.

As reported by The Sun, Blake's 'live' performance was rehearsed, as critics on X quickly pointed out. One user wrote, "How’s Blake Shelton 'live' in Nashville for #CBSNashvilleNYE when he’s about to go on stage at @WinStarWorld in 5min?" A second user said, "Some of the performances are pre-recorded but were live when tapped. #CBSNashvilleNYE WTF is this? Thomas Rhett and Blake Shelton sound like absolute a**."

A few fans expressed their disapproval of the song's apparent departure from what they saw as authentic country music online, believing that it had gone too far from the genre's traditional sound. The uproar surrounding Shelton's performance was exacerbated by news about his personal life, particularly his New Year's Eve absence from his wife Gwen Stefani. Due to separate work obligations, the power couple—who are well-known for their public appearances and high-profile relationships—spent the joyous evening apart. Their sudden absence from public events together and their separation have sparked speculations and conjectures about potential marital problems.

Recently, the 47-year-old country music artist declared his intention to reduce or give up alcohol completely. He told ET, "I haven’t managed to stop drinking yet. That’s been, you know, even cutting back has been hard. I mean, it’s a resolution though. And I’ll say it again right now — that’s my New Year’s resolution, is to either cut back or stop drinking altogether. Let’s just say I said it." The three aspects of Stefani's life that she intends to focus on in 2024 are music, health and wellbeing, and love. Stefani has a history of keeping her former resolutions.

While working on "being more consistent" she also plans to release a new album, according to Access Online. She also gave the reason for why she and her husband would not be sharing a kiss at midnight. She confessed, "Well, it's funny because I was going to be at his show, and then Vegas called and wanted me to be in Vegas. Last year I did Vegas and I was like, 'Remind me to never do Vegas again.' [But] you sometimes want to... not be the host. So I was like, 'Eh, I'm gonna do it.' If you're gonna be working then I'm gonna be working. So, I'm just gonna fly in and out it's gonna be awesome. I'm really looking forward to it."