On Thursday night, former The Voice coach Blake Shelton took home the award for Social Country Star of 2023 at the People’s Choice Country Awards. As expected, the singer gave a funny acceptance speech at the ceremony.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_ylVGqhFQM
Blake Shelton Wins Social Country Star of 2023
Shelton was up against several popular country stars for the award — Bailey Zimmerman, Carrie Underwood, Dolly Parton, Kelsea Ballerini, Luke Combs, Morgan Wallen, and Shania Twain. If you’re wondering what the point of the category is, you’re not the only one.
“I moved to Nashville in 1994, and man, I had a lot of dreams. This was not one of them,” Shelton said in his speech. “I don’t even know what this means. But if the fans want me to have it, I’m damn well gonna put it on my mantel. Thank you so much, country music fans!”
As the crowd cheered for him, Shelton held up his award and bragged, “That’s right. Social media.”
Shelton was also nominated for a few other awards during the event, although he didn’t win them. He was up for People’s Artist of 2023 (which went to Morgan Wallen), Male Artist of 2023 (which went to Jelly Roll), and Concert Tour of 2023 (which also went to Wallen).
The Voice‘s first coaching duo, Dan + Shay, also won during Thursday night’s awards. The pair took home the trophy for Group/Duo of 2023. They were up against Brothers Osborne, Lady A, Little Big Town, Maddie & Tae, Old Dominion, Parmalee, and The War and Treaty.
During their acceptance speech, Shay Mooney admitted, “A year ago, if you had asked me, I didn’t know if we’d ever stand on stage together again, let alone winning an award together.”
He added that “country music changes our life every single day,” saying they were “those kids that grew up listening to Toby Keith and Wynonna and Little Big Town.” He called the award “a dream come true.”
Dan Smyers took the opportunity to say thank you to his and Mooney’s wives, Abby and Hannah. He also shouted out the fans at home who voted for them, saying, “You have no idea how much it means to us.”
Words by:
Jill O'Rourke Jill O’Rourke is a contributor at Talent Recap, writing news stories and recaps for shows like ‘AGT,’ ‘The Voice,’ and ‘American Idol.’ She graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in English and Film Studies, and has been writing about pop culture since 2012, with previous bylines at Crushable and A Plus. Jill spends her free time binge-watching sitcoms and daydreaming about life as a hobbit
