Why Did Brantley Gilbert Give Blake Shelton A Chance To Opt Out Of A Song?

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Brantley Gilbert released one of his latest singles, “Heaven By Then,” with two other country music heavyweights: Vince Gill and Blake Shelton.

Luckily, the trio blended well together. But Gilbert shared why he wanted to ask Shelton in a way that offered him the chance to opt out.

“I hope he appreciated the way I went about it, cause a lot of guys’ll call personally, and that may seem like the right thing to do – you could just call another artists and be like, ‘Hey man, I’d love to get you on this song,’” Gilbert explained, per his record label. “ But to me, sometimes it’s better to have my people reach out to their people cause if it’s a no, I want ‘em to be able to say no and not feel like they can’t say it to me. But he jumped all over it and he was cool about this.”

Gilbert hails Shelton as a “solid” artist in the music industry, remembering that he’s “never been anything but kind and welcoming.” “Heaven By Then” appeared on Gilbert’s 10 -track album, So Help Me God, along with “The Worst Country Song Of All Time” (with Toby Keith and HARDY), “How To Talk To Girls,” “Gone But Not Forgotten” and other highlights. The deluxe edition, featuring five new songs, is due on April 21.