Published by Cel Manero from Global One Media Inc.
“He confessed that taking part in those pageants left him feeling deeply ashamed and humiliated.”
Before Blake Shelton became a chart-topping country star with 30 No. 1 hits and a long stint as a coach on The Voice, he was simply a young boy from Oklahoma with a passion for performing. His mother, Dorothy, recognized his talent early on and did everything she could to help him find opportunities to showcase it. By the time he was seven, Shelton was not only singing at local events but also taking part in—and even competing in—beauty pageants.
Appearing on Q with Tom Power, Shelton reminisced about that unique chapter of his childhood, calling it a particularly “embarrassing” part of his journey as a performer.
“Don’t I just scream ‘pageant material’ when you look at me?” he joked.
During those early performances, Shelton had a couple of favorite songs he would rely on, though in hindsight, he finds the choices amusing and somewhat questionable for a child.
“I always sang the same two songs… I was usually the only boy in the entire competition,” he shared. “Those songs were ‘Old Time Rock and Roll’ and Ted Nugent’s ‘Cat Scratch Fever.’ At the time, neither I nor my mom had any idea what that second song was actually about. We honestly thought it was just about a cat scratching someone and them getting sick!”
Though it felt like he participated in dozens of these pageants, Shelton estimates it was probably only six or seven. Still, the experience was enough to convince him that it wasn’t something he wanted to continue.