From the moment that Blake Shelton appeared with “Ausin” in 2001, he seemed destined to become a well-known country music star.  That single, which was released on Giant Records just as it was folded into parent label Warner Brothers Nashville, announced the arrival of a bonafide vocal force with country music.  Blake Shelton had a pure country voice that was able to put forth so much emotion in the lyrics, perhaps better than many of the established stars of the time could.  While the album failed to get another chart-topper like “Austin,” the fun story song “Ol’ Red” became a radio and fan favorite and it is still one of his most requested songs.  The song helped give Blake his first Gold record for his self-titled debut album. 

“The Baby” was the first single from Shelton’s sophomore album The Dreamer and it, like “Austin,” went straight to #1 on the charts but found the going tough for the follow-up singles. Still The Dreamer was certified Gold and Blake moved on to what has proven to be his most successful album yet, Blake Shelton’s Barn & Grill. The album featured another #1 hit in “Some Beach,” and “Goodbye Time,” a remarkable remake of the late Conway Twitty hit.  While both “Don’t Make Me” and “The More I Drink” weren’t big hits, they did help make Blake’s fourth album Pure B.S. a Gold-selling album before the album became home to Blake’s cover of “Home.”  That song became a multi-week chart-topping hit and it also featured Blake’s girlfriend Miranda Lambert on harmony vocals. 

Blake’s follow-up to Pure B.S. was Startin’ Fires and perhaps perplexing fans a little bit is the fact that this album stopped Shelton’s streak of Gold-selling albums.  This may be due to the fact that fans were still enthralled with “Home” or the fact that the album only contained two singles.  Those two singles, the lead-off hit “She Wouldn’t Be Gone” and “I’ll Just Hold On,” a song which featured the sitar, were both Top 10 hits with “She Wouldn’t Be Gone” having the distinction of being Blake Shelton’s fifth Top 10 hit. 

All of the songs listed in this rundown of Shelton’s first decade as a country star are featured in the digital compilation album Blake Shelton: The Essentials.  They are compiled for an iTunes-only digital compilation that’s available for only $7.99 instead of spending  $12.99 on this lean-n-mean 10 track collection.  While the album doesn’t contain a couple of Blake’s other hits, including one Top 10 (Nobody But Me) from Blake Shelton’s Barn & Grill, the fact that you can get these 10 songs in one place, without having to download them individually, and for $8 is pretty convenient.  If you want to buy it, you better hurry for it is only available until January 12, 2010. 

You can support Blake Shelton by purchasing this album at iTunes (until January 12, 2010).