Blake Shelton — child star?
The country singer dodged fellow "Voice" coach Kelly Clarkson's jokes when he discussed how he competed in pageants as a kid so he could sing during the talent portion of the shows.
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“My mom used to put me in, I don’t remember which one was first, I just have memories of doing these things,” he said Friday on “The Kelly Clarkson Show.”
“My mom would enter me into pageants. Like, literally pageants, because, so I could sing in the talent portion. But then you would also have to do the evening wear and, you know ...” he added, without finishing the thought.
Clarkson, who joins Shelton on the new season of "The Voice" premiering Monday, joked she knew what his answer would be but only wanted to hear him talk about pageants before he divulged his go-to songs to perform.
“You’re such an a------,” he said. “Yes, yes, yes, I did those things. I do remember my two specialties were, I did ‘Old Time Rock & Roll’ by Bob Seger, and I would do ‘Cat Scratch Fever’ by Ted Nugent, which didn’t go over very well with the soccer moms in the audience because, I don’t know if you ever heard that song or what it’s about, but you can imagine, I think.”
“Did your evening wear end up helping you win, though?” Clarkson asked in jest, before a photo of him as a child splashed on the screen.
And while the "Doin' What She Likes" singer, who's been dating fellow "Voice" coach Gwen Stefani since 2015, may be known for his voice, Clarkson also wanted to discuss his moves.
“Is it true, though, that you used to be called Break It Down Blake?” she asked.
“Break-dance lessons, yeah,” he replied, before explaining how he got in on the '80s dance fad as a child in his hometown.
“Break dancing was huge, not yet in Ada, Oklahoma,” he said.
“You were ahead of the curve,” Clarkson replied.
“I remember there was an ad in the newspaper, maybe a few flyers around town, that this girl was going to be coming to town, and it was like a picture of her on the flyer, I remember that,” Shelton said.
“And down in the corner, it was like a little picture of Michael Jackson down there, and it was like, ‘Take dancing lessons from the teacher who taught Michael Jackson.’”
He said it spurred him and his sister to go, noting he wasn’t a repeat customer.
“You only needed the one lesson, apparently, because you said you only took one,” Clarkson said.
“I just needed somebody to show me the way, Kelly, and I take it from there,” he replied dryly.
“Was that your talent, as well, at the pageant? Or break dancing? I just want to keep bringing it up. I love you,” she said, breaking into a giggle fit.