Blake Shelton seems to have a lot of buddies in the entertainment industry — and a few rivalries as well, when you consider how he rips on Adam Levine and Kelly Clarkson. Sometimes it’s hard to tell friend from foe. Take country singer Trace Adkins, who constantly traded insults with Shelton as the cowboy’s Battle Advisor on Season 14 of The Voice. However, now that Adkins is set to star in his own show — Monarch, which premieres on September 11 on Fox — Shelton wants everyone to know just how close he really is to the “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk” singer.
Blake Shelton shared a collage of affectionate photos of him and Trace Adkins over the years to his Instagram Stories, hyping the series premiere of the musical drama Monarch, in which Adkins stars opposite Susan Sarandon. Check out the post below:
Blake Shelton might be a little too close for Trace Adkins’ comfort, but you have to admit the duo is kind of cute. True to form, The Voice coach couldn’t help but take a shot at his friend, as he said Adkins was “actually going to be famous” now, thanks to Monarch. In reality, Adkins has been on the country music scene longer than Shelton, getting his start in 1996 with hits like “Every Light in the House” and “(This Ain’t) No Thinkin’ Thing.”
On tour together last year, Blake Shelton told The Tennessean that Trace Adkins was a “skin tag,” to which the latter replied that Shelton was “a blister that won’t go away,” and he was exhausted from the “God’s Country” singer riding his coattails for so long. Adkins also seemed to take a page from Adam Levine’s book, when he admitted he was upset about not being invited to Shelton’s wedding to Gwen Stefani. He said last year on CMT Radio:
He didn’t invite anybody to the wedding, but he didn’t invite me, and that kind of pissed me off. But, I thought, you know what, man, on second thought, I don’t want to witness this. I don’t want to see this woman throw her life away. I don’t want to be any part of that, and I told her that too.
Can’t you just feel the love? The two really have been friends for years, and Trace Adkins has even appeared on Blake Shelton’s singles “Hell Right” and “Hillbilly Bone.” It seems both the guys really appreciate a friend who can dish out the insults as well as they can take them.
Although acting isn’t Trace Adkins’ primary gig, he’s appeared on-screen plenty of times over the years. In Monarch, a multigenerational musical drama, he will play Albie Roman, patriarch of the country music dynasty. The series will premiere at 8 p.m. ET on Sunday, September 11, on Fox.
Meanwhile, Blake Shelton will be returning to The Voice's Big Red Chairs alongside his wife Gwen Stefani, veteran coach John Legend, and first-timer Camila Cabello. Season 22 will premiere at 8 p.m. ET on Monday, September 19, on NBC. Be sure to check out our 2022 TV Schedule to keep current on all of the other upcoming premiere dates.
