Blake Shelton's L.A. Digs Are 'a Little Elvis-y'

Posted Aug 29th 2012 4:45PM by Gayle Thompson
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Blake Shelton is certainly juggling a lot these days. The singer-songwriter is wrapping up his Well Lit & Amplified tour while he works on a new album and appears on the TV talent competition, "The Voice." The country superstar decided it would be easiest to spend the next few months based in Los Angeles, where "The Voice" is taped. But he was in for a bit of a surprise when he moved into his temporary home.

"When we signed on to do the second season of 'The Voice,' I knew I was going to be out here a lot, and I wanted it to be interesting enough for Miranda [Lambert] to come, and that means a swimming pool, and lots of room for dogs to run around," Blake explains to Country Countdown USA. "So they sent pictures of all these houses, and I saw this one, and thought, 'Man, this is like pimped, she'll love that,' and then I got out here and it's a little too much. It's painted like Italy. But mostly it was about the pool and the outside area, and it's an awesome house, but it's a little Elvis-y for me." (See photos here.)

The elaborate house, which boasts columns and marble throughout the massive space, did offer one unexpected perk when it came time to make his upcoming holiday album, Cheers, It's Christmas -- a media room which became the perfect place to record almost the entire project.

"It's like a home movie theater that was built into this house," the singer explains. "It's got a stage with a wooden floor and curtains. We were going to rent a studio, and I asked my producer to come here, and he thought this room would work. So I ended up doing my entire Christmas album standing in this room on that stage. Reba [McEntire] came over and did her song, Kelly Clarkson, Miranda, Xenia came here, too. We couldn't get Michael Bublé here. We did his in a studio downtown. I guess he didn't feel comfortable coming to the house to sing a duet with me."

Blake admits balancing the TV show with his successful music career is a challenge, but he wouldn't have it any other way. "I love doing it," he notes. "I can't imagine not being a part of 'The Voice.'"

"The Voice," which also includes the return of fellow coaches Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green and Maroon 5's Adam Levine, will premiere on Monday, Sept. 10 at 8:00 PM ET on NBC.

Watch a Report on the New Season of 'The Voice'