Catching up backstage during the lead-up to the 2024 Country Music Association awards ceremony taking place on Wednesday, November 20, Audacy's Katie Neal spoke with Blake Shelton about being "fired up" about new music and more.

Of course, Blake is super-excited to see his good friend Luke Bryan on stage as one of this year's hosts, joking that he likely got the gig again, "I think because people love to watch a train wreck on the TV.

“I'm excited about Lainey [Wilson], I think she's incredible, I'm a huge fan of hers,” he adds, “and of course Peyton [Manning] is so funny… and Luke's funny too. I gotta give it to him. They got the right combination there.”

Touching on his own new music, Shelton says he's been thoroughly enjoying all of the fan reactions to his latest single, "Texas." “I was nervous, you know. It's been a while since I've released any new music,” he admits. “When I retired from ‘The Voice,’ I just kind of like went away… 23 seasons I was on that show, so I was happy to get a break.”

““This spring,” he explains, “Post Malone reached out to me and asked if I would be on the record with him, and then that thing took off and now here I am making my own music again and, I'm fired up about it -- I really am. I’m just trying to take it all in this time around. The first chapter of my career, which I think goes from 2001 to probably 2021 or 22 is kind of a blur to me, and to be able to kind of relaunch again, and know how hard it is in this business to have success, and to have a hit song -- and I really enjoy slowing down this time and taking it in, and enjoying these moments for what they are because not a lot of people get to experience it.”

Getting a chance to work with Malone, he says, reinvigorated his love for making music. “I feel like I'd kind of gotten lazy, you know, and I'd kind of taken for granted what I do because I've been staying on the hamster wheel for so long that you just kind of forget… When I was a kid, my only dream was being on the radio, and I mean, a very small, lottery winning percentage of people get to do this. But being around Post, it was like, ‘Look at this kid, man, he's the biggest star in the world.’ He couldn't be more excited about what he does, and what am I doing?”

“I really do credit him for firing me up about it again,” says Blake, “and wanting to make some more music. As long as people want it, and want to at least hear it and give me a chance -- it's actually literally stupid not to do it.”

Looking ahead, Shelton says “I probably have an album's worth of music that recorded that I have. I don't think it's there yet. I'm gonna keep recording and looking for songs until they tell me they gotta start printing albums and I need to turn something in.”

Listen to Katie's full chat with Blake Shelton above.

Don't miss the 58th Annual CMA Awards, hosted by Luke Bryan, Peyton Manning, and Lainey Wilson on Wednesday, November 20 at 8/7c on ABC, and available the next day on Hulu. Find more of Audacy's CMA Awards coverage at audacy.com/cma.

Words by Joe Cingrana, Interview by Katie Neal

Photo: Jason Kempin/Getty Images