The best music has a way of evoking an emotional response in its listeners, whether that’s nostalgia, excitement or any number of feelings. Country music is no different, but it does have a certain reputation for its heartbreaking anthems. Blake Shelton — who has a new singing competition coming this fall to the 2025 TV schedule — may have just one-upped the entire genre with his latest release that had Gwen Stefani unable to stop crying and allegedly caused one label executive to have a heart attack.
“Let Him in Anyway” was officially released last week and will be a single on Blake Shelton’s upcoming album For Recreational Use Only. The song reportedly struck a chord with wife Gwen Stefani (whose relationship with Blake Shelton started after they met on The Voice ), as Jon Loba, the president of Frontline Recordings, North America told American Songwriter:
He was playing it for Gwen, and Gwen started playing it for herself. They were headed out for some event, and she had all her makeup on. She cried the first time she heard it. Then she played it again and cried and played it again and cried. Blake is like, ‘Sweetie, you gotta get yourself together. We gotta go to this event.’
That’s pretty intense, not only that the song was sad enough to make the No Doubt frontwoman — who married the country singer in 2021 — cry all her makeup off before an event, but that she thought it was good enough to listen to repeatedly after having that reaction.
So what is “Let Him in Anyway” about? The lyrics reference the death of a loved one who “wasn’t quite the Christian he was supposed to be,” with the singer praying that his friend be allowed into heaven anyway.
That is some heavy stuff, and it would seem Chris Oglesby, the senior vice president of creative at BBR Music Group, would agree. Jon Loba recalled playing the song for Oglesby privately, as the VP was dealing with personal issues including the death of his brother-in-law, and it sounds like they had the same reaction as Gwen Stefani, with Loba saying:
He starts to bawl his eyes out. I bawl my eyes out. He says thank you and leaves.
Jon Loba then played it for someone else, and Chris Oglesby came in to listen again but reportedly jumped up in the middle of it and ran out of the office. Loba said he thought Oglesby had been overcome by emotion, but a few minutes later he got a call from a general manager who said Oglesby thought he was having a heart attack and they were on their way to the hospital. Loba continued:
He was, in fact, having a heart attack. They put two stents in, and they waited two weeks and put two more stents in.
That's the kind of story that seemingly could inspire a great country music movie!
So did “Let Him in Anyway” really cause the executive’s heart attack? Chris Oglesby apparently thinks so. He said he felt some “flutters” in his heart a couple of times earlier in the week, but the extreme emotion from Blake Shelton’s song pushed him over the edge. “But luckily not too far,” Jon Loba added. Oglesby is reportedly feeling “better than ever” in the weeks since, but hopefully he’s been sticking to the happier tunes in the former Voice coach’s catalog.
“Let Him in Anyway” is available to stream and download now wherever you get your music, and Blake Shelton’s 13th studio album For Recreational Use Only drops May 9, 2025. Please listen with caution.
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