Back in 2001, Blake Shelton was a country music newcomer with a mullet haircut and a breakthrough hit single in "Austin." He had enough early-career momentum for an invite to perform at the CMA Awards in Nashville. Shelton was understandably nervous about his live television debut, which caught the attention of Billy Ray Cyrus.
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"I remember I had a song out that had done pretty good, good enough that they asked me to come do one of those commercial bumper moments," Shelton said during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. "So I was standing there off to the side. And Billy Ray Cyrus had just presented an award and he walked over and he said —and he introduced himself to me— which, I was just in shock."
Shelton admitted to being antsy about a potential make-or-break moment, so Cyrus tried to calm those nerves with some sage wisdom.
"And he goes, 'Hey man, listen. Even if you do great, this is the music industry. Most of those people are going to make fun of you and roll their eyes anyway.' It's like, this is the music industry. You need to toughen up a little, man," Shelton shared. "Like, that was his pep talk to me. As a young 23-year-old kid or whatever it was, I was like, 'Oh my God, you're right!'"
It wasn't bad advice by any means, but as Shelton tends to do when he appears on late night talk shows, he recalled the memory as if it was part of a standup routine. If anything, Shelton lightened up —as opposed to toughened up— while blossoming into a charismatic television personality with no lack of stories about career milestones, famous friends and pet raccoons.
