Blake Shelton’s fans are NOT about to let haters ruin his new song!
Countless supporters of the country crooner came to Grammy nominee’s defense after critics accused his new song Minimum Wage of being “tone deaf,” since so many people are out of work while The Voice coach is worth millions.
One of those supporters was fellow country star Ronnie Dunn — one half of the duo Brooks & Dunn — who wrote a lengthy social media post arguing that Blake’s song wasn’t actually offensive, because it’s about a time in the superstar’s life when he was, in fact, broke af.
Related: Blake Reveals The Wild Way He Hid Gwen Stefani’s Engagement Ring
Explaining how most musicians struggle financially for years before earning a living from music making, the performer wrote:
“The ‘beef’ is yet another of those misguided social issue (cultural scams) that are concocted to further divide this country. Now, they want to attack country singers for being successful. I slept on a mattress on the floor in a musician friend’s spare bedroom and played BEER JOINTS / DIVE BARS for years before I ever made a $100. Most country singers pay dues and go through things to become successful that no sane human being would.”
He’s kinda got a point there!
The 67-year-old continued:
“I grew up poor. My father was a truck driver, avid country music fan and oilfield worker all his life. My mother worked a ‘minimum wage’ job as a small town bank teller to help support a family with four kids. The entire world wants to hitch a free ride on the American Dream. Those that don’t want to diminish or destroy it. Read the full lyrics to Blake’s song. Hell, I wish I’d written it.”
Gwen Stefani‘s fiancé initially performed the song on NBC’s New Year’s Eve special on December 31. It includes the lines:
“Yeah, I met you ‘fore anyone knew my name / Playin’ for pennies on the dive bar stage / Split an all-star special on our first date in a Waffle House booth / Your daddy was cryin’ when he gave you away / ‘Cause all those country songs I played / They didn’t come with a 401k / But hey, I had you”
So, clearly the song takes place years before Blake became a household name (who, btw, reportedly raked in $32 million in 2019 alone) — however, not everyone looked into the lyrics that deeply. After the performance, Twitics fumed:
“blake shelton singing ‘your love could make a man feel rich on minimum wage’ just cements the fact that rich people have absolutely no f**king clue”
“Does anyone else find Blake Shelton’s ‘Minimum Wage’ song to be incredibly tone deaf to our country’s current state?”
“A mega millionaire romanticizing minimum wage is peak 2020. Blake Shelton can go f**k himself.”
But fans had Blake’s back, with many asking him to release Minimum Wage as a new single. The superstar responded to the overwhelming support — which apparently included a DM from former Van Halen frontman Sammy Hagar — on the social site, tweeting:
“When your fans, @RonnieDunn and @sammyhagar have your back it’s gonna be a good year. Bring it on 2021.”
Looks like Blake doesn’t think he has anything to apologize for! Do U agree with him, Perezcious readers?
[Image via YouTube]
The post Blake Shelton Addresses Backlash Over 'Tone Deaf' Song <i>Minimum Wage</i>! appeared first on Perez Hilton.
