It was a giant step for Blake Shelton, actually it would have been for anyone. In 1994, just weeks after graduating high school, the Oklahoma born country singer packed his bags and headed for Nashville, Tenn., a place that established some of country music's biggest stars like Alan Jackson and Dolly Parton. “I was so naïve though – when you're seventeen, this [is] going to be easy – so, I never had a doubt that I was going to make it one day,” Shelton said in an interview with Country Music Television.

After years of working random jobs and playing his guitar in bars, the perseverance finally paid off for the young country-rock musician. In 1998, Shelton was signed to the now defunct Giant Records. He released his first single “Austin,” on his self-titled debut album.