On this day (July 31) in 2001, Blake Shelton released his self-titled debut album. It went to No. 3 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart, giving the then-newcomer another feather in his cap. Before releasing the album, Shelton shared “Austin” as its lead single and his debut. It was a smash hit that helped drive sales of the LP.
Today, Shelton is one of the biggest names in country music. He has released a long line of hit singles, opened a chain of bars, coached on The Voice, and hosted his own bar-themed celebrity game show. He’ll also helm his own singing competition show in the near future. In 2001, though, he was just a singer/songwriter from Oklahoma with a dream of breaking into the country music world.
Shelton’s debut album and its singles set the tone for more than two decades of consistent success. All 13 of his studio albums have been top 10 hits on the country albums chart. Eight of them have been top 10 hits on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart. His singles have shown similar success across the Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts. He has only missed the top 40 of the latter chart once since its inception in 2012. He has only missed the same region of the former chart twice.
Blake Shelton Sees Early Success with “Austin”
Written by Kristi Manna and David Kent, Blake Shelton released “Austin” as his debut single on April 16, 2001. It started a five-week run at the top of the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart on August 11 of that year. It was the most successful debut single since Billy Ray Cyrus’ “Achy Breaky Heart” saw the same success in 1992.
“I was so afraid of that song,” Shelton said. “I was just convinced that, you know, to be a new artist you needed to come out with maybe an up-tempo or something fun,” he added. “And ‘Austin’ is this super slow ballad story song about an answering machine.”
Legendary songwriter Bobby Braddock produced Shelton’s debut album and was skeptical about the song at first. “About a third of the way through the song, I was thinking, ‘This is pretty corny.’ About two-thirds of the way through, I thought, ‘This is kinda like one of those Tom Hanks-Meg Ryan love stories.’ By the end of the song, I had a lump in my throat,” he recalled.
According to Songfacts, Braddock was pretty sure the song would be a hit after he heard it for the first time. Then, he played it for a handful of his female friends. They all cried after hearing it. Their reactions to the song solidified his confidence in it.
“I’ve never been so happy in my life to be that wrong about something,” Blake Shelton said, reflecting on his initial impression of “Austin.”
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