Blake Shelton VS. Luke Bryan: Who is the Real King of Country?
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American Idol mentor Bobby Bones posted an Instagram video ranking the five funniest country artists. The Voice coach Blake Shelton was at the top of the list with Luke Bryan close behind. This naturally sparked a great debate about which of these talent show judges is not only the funniest country singer, but the true king of country.
Shelton and Bryan are longtime friends that have dominated prime time television, award shows, and the country music charts for the past decade. After years of roasting each other in the media and throwing shade, let’s rank some of their best attributes to decide who deserves the country crown. A little friendly competition never hurt anybody.
Ranking Blake Shelton and Luke Bryan: Who Deserves the Country King Title?
Which One Has the Comedy Chops?
Shelton is notoriously known for being a huge jokester on The Voice. Anything that comes out of his mouth is met with giggles from the audience. One of his most memorable moments was when he thought there was a musical genre called “emu rock.” Shelton is excellent with his comedic timing, once calling Shakira a “crappy coach” but the “perfect woman.” This man is a straight up savage.
Bryan does get outshined by Katy Perry when it comes to making funny comments on American Idol. His big comedy moment was when he tipped Perry over during the American Idol auditions because she was wearing a cow-print outfit. He also hilariously showed off his pet turkey to the world last year. Though Bryan has had quite a few funny moments, we have to give the comedic crown to Shelton on this one.
Does Shelton or Bryan Have Better Songs?
Obviously, both Shelton and Bryan are extremely talented and widely regarded as two of the biggest country music stars ever. Bryan found tremendous success with hits like “Country Girl (Shake It for Me)” and “That’s My Kind of Night.” He has amassed over 8.8 million monthly listeners on Spotify compared to Shelton’s 7.6 listeners. Bryan is always the life of the party. He was even put on blast by Jimmy Kimmel for all of this alcohol-themed songs.
Bryan’s songs certainly appeal more to a younger crowd. Shelton’s songs usually have deeper meanings. Shelton’s 2019 song “God’s Country” has become one of his most popular songs. It earned a CMA Award and an ACM Award along with 205 million streams on Spotify and 150 million views on YouTube. Despite Shelton’s success, Bryan definitely has the better party songs that are more danceable out of the pair. The American Idol judge wins this round.
Who Has the Better Looks?
Shelton and Bryan are similar in that they both go for more comfortable and laidback looks at their concerts. The difference between them is that Shelton is more likely to wear jeans to red carpet events. Bryan typically opts for a snazzy suit without a tie. Shelton is huge on dressing for comfort and there’s nothing wrong with that. Simon Cowell would agree.
Shelton wore jeans at his wedding to Gwen Stefani. He is also more likely to accessorize with a cowboy hat than Bryan. Bryan usually opts for a backwards baseball cap when he is on stage. If you are into the rustic country aesthetic, Shelton is your guy. If you’re into the country and sometimes chic vibe, Bryan is an expert at that. He is the bigger fashionista here at least when it comes to red carpets.
Which One Has the Best Accent?
One reason why watching The Voice is so fun is because Shelton’s tactics sound so much cooler with his country accent. Whether its bickering with Kelly Clarkson, or screaming about getting blocked during the Blind Auditions, Shelton’s accent is swoon-worthy. The cowboy is always honing into his Oklahoma roots by bringing up stories about his childhood.
Bryan’s country twang is a lot thicker after growing up in Georgia. Shelton actually called out Bryan’s accent in the past for being “fake.” Bryan discussed his country accent with Jimmy Fallon in 2017 and the pair laughed about not knowing how to pronounce the word “gyro.” However, there’s just something about the way Shelton talks that makes literally everything he says so interesting. Shelton takes the cake with his country accent.
Tiebreaker: Battle of Their Alcohol Brands
If you have been keeping score, Shelton has taken two rounds and Bryan has taken two rounds. The way to settle this tie is by looking at something that is near and dear to both of their hearts: their alcohol brands. Bryan teamed up with Constellation on Two Lane American Golden Lager and Two Lane Hard Seltzer. He was involved in the creative process to come up with the seltzer flavors like peach tea that were inspired by his Southern roots.
The flavor of Bryan’s alcohol is very light in comparison to Shelton’s Smithworks American-made vodka and his line of hard seltzers. Similarly, Shelton also released a peach tea flavor. So…which seltzer brand is better? We got to go with Shelton on this one. The flavors are just more pleasant and resemble soda. It makes sense why Shelton is always sipping out of a red Solo cup on The Voice. He certainly deserves the country crown that he is always boasting about on the show.
Are you #TeamBlake or #TeamLuke? Let us know who you think reigns supreme as the king of country music!
Luke Bryan. He’s more successful than Blake, and is currently still a chart topper while Blake is not. But I do love Blake! He’s the one that got me into loving country music.