Blake Shelton Once Rejected a Song That Became a Smash Hit for Toby Keith

Sometimes in Nashville, one decision can rewrite music history. And for Blake Shelton, that moment came with a song that he tossed aside—only to watch it become one of Toby Keith’s biggest, rule-breaking anthems.

The song? “I Wanna Talk About Me.”

The Song Blake Let Slip Away

Back in the early 2000s, Shelton was still the fresh Oklahoma kid with a mullet, trying to carve out his place in country music. His producer, Bobby Braddock, handed him the quirky country-rap track because Blake often goofed around in the studio, spitting out silly rhymes. It was meant to show a playful side of Shelton beyond his ballads.

He recorded it. He cut it. He thought maybe he’d found something unique.

Then the label stepped in. And that’s where everything changed.

“They ran it through a focus group, and the reaction was so bad,” Shelton admitted years later. “They said not only should it not be a single… it shouldn’t even be on my album. It was horrifying.”

Stung, Shelton scrapped the track.

Toby Keith Takes It to the Top

What happened next is pure Nashville irony. Braddock shopped the tune around, and Toby Keith pounced.

In 2001, “I Wanna Talk About Me” landed on Keith’s Pull My Chain album, blasting onto the airwaves with swagger, humor, and just enough outlaw confidence to break every so-called Nashville “rule.”

The result? A multi-week No. 1 hit that became one of Toby Keith’s signature songs—proof that country music could laugh at itself, rap a little, and still dominate the charts.

Shelton later admitted on The Tonight Show: “I think it found its right home.” And he wasn’t wrong. Toby’s brash, take-no-prisoners delivery fit the track like a glove.

No Bad Blood—Just Brotherhood

Instead of regret, Shelton chose respect. He went on to build his own empire of heartfelt ballads and rowdy anthems, while Toby cemented his reputation as a risk-taker who could turn “crazy” into “classic.”

Their friendship only deepened. And when Toby Keith passed away in February 2024 after a courageous battle with stomach cancer, Blake Shelton delivered one of the night’s most emotional tributes at the ACM Awards.

“Toby was a great friend to me and he was a real straight shooter who was larger than life,” Shelton told the crowd, his voice breaking. “He always shot you straight—right till the very end of his very brave ride, that ended way too soon.”

The Lesson in the Missed Hit

Looking back, it’s wild to imagine Blake Shelton rapping through a song that would go on to define Toby Keith’s bold, boundary-pushing run in the 2000s. Shelton passed. Toby owned it. And country music gained an anthem that fans still scream for decades later.

Because sometimes, a song doesn’t just need a singer. It needs the right cowboy.

And in this case, “I Wanna Talk About Me” found exactly that.

Video: