Country Fans Are Divided After Blake Shelton’s Prerecorded NYE Performance: ‘Embarrassment’

Those that tuned in to New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash were left shocked to find that Blake Shelton’s performance had been prerecorded. Fans of the country singer were quick to point out that his duet with Trace Adkins was not being broadcast live as it was initially promised.

“So, @CBS just saw promo about New Year’s Eve celebration in Nashville live,” one person wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “List of celebs including Blake Shelton but he is performing in Oklahoma tonight. So, will you be going live to his concert or are some segments prerecorded ? #NewYear2024.”

On New Year’s Eve, Blake, 47, was due to perform at WinStar World Casino and Resort in Thackerville, Oklahoma. Ahead of that, he was featured in a promo for New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash, which advertised a live appearance from the crooner to help ring in the new year. His schedule definitely caused confusion among his fans.

“How’s Blake Shelton ‘live’ in Nashville for #CBSNashvilleNYE when he’s about to go on stage at @WinStarWorld in 5 min? He must have one fast ass tour bus!” another X comment read.

During the CBS special, Blake and Trace, 61, took the stage to perform the song “Hell Right.” The performance was taped in front of a live audience ahead of the broadcast airing on TV.

Another person penned, “#CBSNashvilleNYE WTF is this? Thomas Rhett and Blake Shelton sound like absolute ass. This is an embarrassment to country music.”

Other performances throughout the night included country icons like Kane Brown, Lainey Wilson, Old Dominion, Cody Johnson and Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Some people voiced their support for Blake’s performance, revealing that they opted to watch the CBS broadcast instead of other primetime New Year’s Eve specials.

“I liked the one on CBS better, the one with Lynyrd Skynyrd and Blake Shelton and all those guys, the one in Nashville, Tennessee,” one supporter shared on Twitter of their preference.

Noticeably absent from Blake’s WinStar concert and New Year’s Eve segment was his wife, Gwen Stefani. The “Just a Girl” singer revealed that she and her husband would not be spending New Year’s Eve together.

“I was going to be at his show and then Vegas called and wanted me to be in Vegas,” she said of booking performances at the Venetian Resort in Las Vegas to end 2023 in a recent interview with Access Hollywood. “Last year I did Vegas, and I was kind of like, ‘Remind me never to do Vegas again’ because you sometimes just want to have your own, not be the host.”

After having a discussion with Blake, Gwen, 54, ultimately decided that putting on an incredible show for her fans was the perfect way to end the year.

“If you’re going to be working, then I’m going to be working,” she reflected. “I’m just going to fly in and out, it’s going to be awesome.”

In her Instagram Stories, Gwen shared clips from her time performing in Las Vegas. “Cheers to a beautiful 2023,” she wrote in a video montage posted on her page.