Blake Shelton Credits Fellow Oklahoma Natives Reba McEntire And Toby Keith For Inspiring His Country Music Career

“It’s pretty crazy when you look down the list of artists that have come from Oklahoma,” Shelton admits.

Blake Shelton joins a long list of country music superstars who hail from the state of Oklahoma – Carrie Underwood, Garth Brooks, Vince Gill, Joe Diffie, and many more. Also included in this coveted group are Reba McEntire and the late Toby Keith, both of whom Shelton says inspired him to want to pursue a career in country music. 

“It’s pretty crazy when you look down the list of artists that have come from Oklahoma. It’s a huge list and it’s a lot of superstars,” Shelton told Storme Warren on the air of The Big 615. “Growing up in Oklahoma, that was part of the drive that gave me the confidence to come to Nashville was knowing that Reba was just 20 miles from here. I mean, I’m talking about she came from the middle of nowhere and now she’s the biggest star in country music. It was really inspiring.”

He then recalled seeing Keith achieve major success with his signature song, “Should’ve Been A Cowboy,” and realizing that if these artists could get out of their small towns and make it to the big time, maybe he would have a chance at doing the same.