Blake Shelton is the Executive Producer of the upcoming CBS show, The Road, along with Taylor Sheridan. It was Shelton’s idea to have both Keith Urban and Gretchen Wilson as part of the show. Urban is the headliner all of the contestants open for, while Wilson serves as the tour manager.
“There’s not much you have to say, besides ‘Keith Urban.’ Besides who he is as an artist and a musician, and all the awards and accolades,” Shelton says at a recent media event, revealing why he chose Urban. “I mean, what he brought to the table, from being a coach on The Voice, being a judge on American Idol. I’ve seen this guy in action, being a record producer himself. Literally every layer of the music industry that you could possibly think of, he’s accomplished. He’s a no-brainer.”
Shelton knew as soon as they decided to bring on a tour manager that it was Wilson he wanted. Not only was she his first choice, according to Shelton, she was also his only choice.
“Gretchen, she’s literally one of my favorite people in the music industry,” Shelton boasts. “Because she just doesn’t take any sh– from anybody, about anything. So when you’re looking for that person to represent the tour manager’s job, that character of the show…I don’t want to talk about anybody else. I want Gretchen. She can do this. She can be honest with people, and talk direct to them, in a way that’s meaningful, but you pay attention. There was nobody else for me than Gretchen to do that job.”
The Guest Mentors On ‘The Road’
In addition to Shelton, Urban and Wilson, The Road will also have guest mentors, which Urban recently revealed.
“One of the great things that happened across this season is that we also got to have guest mentors come on board, at various places,” Urban shares. “So we had people I toured with before, like Dustin Lynch, Karen Fairchild, from Little Big Town. We also had Jordan Davis, and Brothers Osborne were on board as well. So there’s going to be these sort of surprise guest appearances by these other extraordinary artists.”
For Shelton, it made sense to bring other artists on The Road, sharing their wealth of experience with the 12 contestants.
“We’ve all been in that position of opening for somebody, walking out and facing a crowd that doesn’t care who we are,” Shelton explains. “We’ve got to try to grab them in that minimal amount of time we are given. That’s what makes this show so unique. This is the real world. This is what really happens.
“Watching all these musicians night after night,” he continues. “Having to choose a song, cover a song and perform an original song, and to make these decisions on how to connect with this audience night after night and have the audience vote and get them through to the next night. That’s a real world truth right there about being an artist on the road.”
The Road premieres on CBS on October 19. The winner receives a cash prize of $250,000, along with a recording contract.