Blake Shelton & Ashley Monroe


Blake Tollison Shelton (born June 18, 1976) is an American country music artist. In 2001, he made his debut with the single "Austin". Released as the lead-off single from his self-titled debut album, "Austin" went on to spend five weeks at Number One on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. This song was the first single from his gold-certified debut album, which also produced two more Top 20 hits. Although the album was released on Giant Records Nashville, Shelton was transferred to Warner Bros. Records Nashville after Giant closed in late 2001.

Monroe was born on September 10, 1986 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Growing up, her parents played songs by the Eagles and Lynyrd Skynyrd, so her country rock roots started early, and she was already taking piano lesson before she turned seven. At age 11, she won a talent contest in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee (home of Dolly Parton's resort "Dollywood"), singing "I Want to Be a Cowboy's Sweetheart." She subsequently found steady work performing in a theater in Pigeon Forge. A couple year later, her father gave Monroe her first guitar, and she began writing her own songs.