Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani will ring in the New Year on opposite sides of the country. Shelton will perform as part of New Year’s Eve: Nashville’s Big Bash, alongside Trace Adkins, while Stefani will perform in Las Vegas.
“Well, it’s funny because I was going to be at his show, and then Vegas called and wanted me to be in Vegas,” Stefani tells Access Hollywood, adding that performing on December 31st was not her original plan to wrap up this year.
“Last year I did Vegas and I was like, ‘Remind me to never do Vegas again.’ [But] you sometimes want to… not be the host,” says the mother of three. “So I was like, ‘Eh, I’m gonna do it.’ If you’re gonna be working then I’m gonna be working — so I’m just gonna fly in and out it’s gonna be awesome. I’m really looking forward to it.”
If Shelton rings in 2024 with a drink, it might be his last of the year. The Oklahoma native says he wants to cut back on drinking, or maybe entirely quit.
“I haven’t managed to stop drinking yet. Even cutting back has been hard,” Shelton tells Entertainment Tonight. “I mean, it’s a resolution though. And I’ll say it again right now — that’s my New Year’s resolution, is to either cut back or stop drinking altogether. Let’s just say I said it.”
Both Shelton and Stefani each received stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame this year. Shelton received his in May, which included a touching tribute by Stefani. He returned the favor in October, when Stefani received her own star.
“The first time I ever met Gwen was in 2014,” Shelton said as part of his speech, recalling the first time he met her, while on the set of The Voice. “She wasn’t like any other famous person that I had ever met before. She drove herself to work in a black minivan, with car seats in it. She didn’t roll in with security.
“She came in with a baby and two little boys, which at the time worked like security, because nobody was going near her,” he added with a laugh. “It was chaos. It was clear to me that she was a mother, first and foremost over anything else in the world. That was her No. 1 job. And now, standing here almost ten years later after I first met her, I can say without question that being a mother is still the most important thing in her life. And I gotta tell you all, that’s rare in this business.”
Shelton will head to Las Vegas next month, to put the finishing touches on his sixth Ole Red location. The venue is expected to open in January.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of NBC
