Blake Shelton and Trace Adkins Tease New ‘Hell Right’ Duet
The superstars revive their "Hillbilly Bone" connection.
One of country’s favorite superstar pairings is reconnecting for a mysterious new collaboration, with Blake Shelton and Trace Adkins teaming up for “Hell Right.”
Announced Monday (8/12) as Shelton’s next single, not much is known about the new track — except that Shelton is extremely pumped up about it. The follow up to his 26th No.1, “God’s Country,” it was written by David Garcia, Brett Tyler and Michael Hardy, and a brief teaser of the track supplied to press outlets hints at the song’s theme. Shelton and Adkins can be heard talking as crickets chirp and a phase-shifting guitar sets the mood of a quiet campfire conversation, with Adkins booming a request at his longtime buddy. “Tell ‘em that story you were tellin’ me,” he says.
According to Shelton, it’s all part of a new approach he’s taking with his tunes … namely, just recording whatever he wants and releasing it the same way.
“The thing that I love about what I’m doing right now, as far as recording and releasing music goes, is that I’m able to have an immediate reaction to something – and ‘Hell Right’ is an example of that,” Shelton says. “We had several songs cut that we had been excited about and still are, but when I heard ‘Hell Right’ I called my producer Scott and said, ‘I don’t want to rock the boat here, I just feel like we need to go in and cut this and see how it works out.’
“After living with it about three or four days, I just had an idea that Trace Adkins would be perfect to have on this record with me,” he goes on. “I’ve been saying for the last few months, I’m just recording songs that I want to make with no apologies, with no rhyme or reason, and I’ve been making them with the people I want to make them with. I’m just making records that I’m excited about.”
Shelton and Adkins memorably teamed up for the fun-loving smash “Hillbilly Bone” in 2009 (hitting No.1 at country radio and earning the pair a Vocal Event of the Year award from the Academy of Country Music), and they also spent time on the road together as part of Shelton’s Friends and Heroes Tour 2019. “Hell Right” will be released this Friday and hit radio stations around the nation Monday (8/19).
