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Blake Shelton, country music star and longest-tenured coach on NBC’s The Voice, released a new song in December 2020, premiering on a New Year’s Eve TV special. The song instantly received backlash from fans, some alleging that the song is “tone-deaf”.
The song, which has the title “Minimum Wage,” was apparently written for Shelton’s fiance, Gwen Stefani. Fans were quick to point out that Shelton is a millionaire.
“Girl, your love can make a man feel rich on minimum wage,” Shelton croons at one time during the ballad. People took to social media to express their takes on the song, which range from positive to negative.
Fans Believe the Song is ‘Tone-Deaf’
After releasing the song, fans took to Twitter to say that Shelton is a millionaire and shouldn’t be singing about what it’s like to live on minimum wage, especially since so many people are suffering due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Blake Shelton singing ‘your love could make a man feel rich on minimum wage’ just cements the fact that rich people have absolutely no f***ing clue,” one user tweeted.
Other people thought the song would be fine if it had been released another time.
“I wish he wrote more of his own music because he’s an incredible songwriter,” one person wrote. “There’s a time for songs like ‘Minimum Wage’ but it isn’t now. It’s not relatable. People are out of work due to the pandemic. They’re fighting for their livelihoods as businesses are forced to close.”
“Does anyone else find Blake Shelton’s ‘Minimum Wage’ song to be incredibly tone-deaf to our country’s current state?” one person wrote after watching his performance.
Replies to the original tweet were mixed, with some people saying that the song may have been tone-deaf and others saying it’s just a song and wasn’t meant to be taken the way that it has been.
Other Fans Supported Shelton’s Song
Some fans, however, appreciated Shelton’s song and thought that it was in the same line as most other country music songs.
“Country music is typically written from the point of view of the common man,” one person tweeted. “So give Blake Shelton a break. Singing about minimum wage is no different than singing about dirt roads and cheap beer in solo cups.”
One user tweeted, “So people are complaining about Blake Shelton’s minimum wage song? Are they unaware that’s what every country song is about?”
Another wrote, “All I’ve got to say is I’m sure Blake Shelton had a minimum wage job at some point in his life… I haven’t heard the song but I’m sure he can remember what being broke vs. being in love feels like.. Also, maybe he didn’t write it, even if so, let’s not stress about a song.”
Shelton and Stefani announced their engagement, and details on how it happened have been steadily coming out since then. Stefani took to Instagram on Tuesday, October 27 to announce that Shelton popped the question and she said yes.
“@blakeshelton yes please!” she captioned the photo.
Shelton shared the same photo alongside the caption, “Hey @gwenstefani thanks for saving my 2020… And the rest of my life.. I love you. I heard a YES!”
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