This year marks the 20th anniversary of the release of Blake Shelton‘s debut single, “Austin.” The song hit #1 on the Hot Country Songs chart and crossed over to claim the 18th position on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Because of its success, “Austin” instantly put Shelton on the map in the country music world.
“Austin” was just the start of things for Shelton. He has since charted 27 other #1 singles and has been nominated for nine Grammy Awards. Shelton’s popularity continued to soar in 2011 after he signed on to serve as a coach on The Voice. He’s still on the show today, and has seven wins under his belt.
Now, Shelton is coaching his 20th season of The Voice and is also gearing up to release a new album in May. Speaking with PEOPLE, Shelton spoke about where he’s at in his career today.
“I’m to the point in my career where I always want to try to reinvent myself,” he said. “I keep one foot in traditional country but at the same time…find new sounds and new music.”
If he had the chance, Shelton would also encourage his past self to reinvent something…his hair.
During the early years of his career, Shelton was known for supporting long hair styled into a mullet. He often jokes about how ridiculous he looked back then, making it clear he currently regrets his past hairstyle.
Offering a piece of advice to his younger self, Shelton says, “I would have told that kid, ‘Hey man, the mullet’s not as cool as you think it is.‘”
Even though Shelton says he’d tell his younger self to reconsider the mullet, he brought it back not too long ago. After everything that was going on in the world in early 2020, Shelton announced he was regrowing his mullet “as a symbol of hope.” He kept his fans updated on the status of his hairdo, and Gwen Stefani even cut and styled his hair for him while he was being interviewed by Jimmy Fallon.
Watch that hilarious past interview below.
Now looking back, Shelton may not think the mullet he was sporting during his “Austin” days was cool. But we couldn’t imagine the younger Shelton looking any other way!