But he's more than that. He's a giver too - of advice to those who seek it, a good time to audiences who line up for it, and his time to those in serious need.

Most recently this has meant helping his fellow Oklahomans restore their land and lives after a drought brought devastating fires that destroyed or damaged more than 500 homes and 555,000 acres of farmland and forest. Shelton took action last year by launching Raindance!, a charity event that centered on a sold-out concert and raised more than $133,600 for Project Rebuild, the relief program sponsored by the Oklahoma Lumbermen's Association.

But even that amount of money hasn't satisfied the young superstar, who came back in 2007 for more. "I'm so happy it's been such a success," he declared. "And I want to keep it going because Project Rebuild will always have someone who can benefit. I want to give back not only to my home community [of Ada, Okla.,] but also the whole state. Besides that, I just have fun doing it. Most of these guys that come in are people I just look for an excuse to hang out with."

This year's three-day event in April raised more than $100,000 and once again brought team roping competitions, archery tournaments (including a celebrity shootout) and a concert complete with silent auction. Last year, Shelton recruited Keith Anderson, Tracy Byrd, Andy Griggs and others to join him. The lineup this year included Neal McCoy and Craig Morgan - who, Shelton said with a grin, needed a bit of convincing.

"I told him about the turkey hunt and he jumped onboard then. Yes, it's unbelievable just how red some of us are," he joked.

The clout that Shelton demonstrates in organizing Raindance! reflects just how bright his star has grown, with recent appearances in People magazine and on "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" coinciding with the May 1 release of new album, Pure BS, and a run as a judge on "Nashville Star." He was a little doubtful, actually, about accepting that invitation from USA Network's "Nashville Star," thinking that his off-kilter sense of humor might leave him mistaken for "some beach." But the votes tallied in his favor in the end.

"I figured after eight episodes people would finally go, 'OK, I get this guy now,'" he said. "I would watch the Web site and saw the hate comments getting fewer and fewer, so I'm glad it worked out that way. And I was really surprised with the level of talent on the show. Some days, it was tough to find something critical to say about any of the contestants. I have a lot of respect for all of them."

Asked about fellow judge Anastasia Brown, Shelton said he hopes people don't get the wrong idea from their sometimes barbed exchanges. "As a matter of fact, I really like Anastasia," he insisted. "She's one of the people I see around Nashville who always has a smile on her face. She's so easy to approach. Of course, you know I picked on her and she picked on me too, about the way I dress. But I do know people love to hate her and she's been really good for the show."

For her part, Brown described herself as "proud to be Blake's partner in crime and proud to be a part of the 'Nashville Star' team. It's done nothing but good things for our city and industry and all of the people associated with it."

She admitted to worrying sometimes about how her constructive criticism of contestants might go down with viewers, but "my previous business partner, Miles Copeland, influenced me with this thought: You either make decisions based in fear or passion. Do not ever allow fear to guide you. I love music and art, so that's how I make my decisions. I can't worry about what people think. I always try to be honest and fair while focusing on areas of critique different than my co-judges."

As for sharing the screen with Shelton, Brown continued, "Sitting next to him every week is like getting a front-row seat to a comedy show. I couldn't ask for a more talented person to work with, not only as an artist I respect but also one of the most entertaining people I've ever met."

Of course, Shelton's significant other, Miranda Lambert, a "Star" alumna herself, may see the show in a different light. "Believe me," he said, chuckling, "I've taken many occasions to remind her that she lost. When she's said, 'Well, I don't know how I feel about so-and-so,' one of the contestants, I come back with, 'What can you say? You didn't win. You lost.' Then I end up being silenced for a long time after that."

An even better way to silence Shelton might be to place him in the company of Country Music legends including John Anderson and George Jones, who made special appearances backing him on his new album's last track, "The Last Country Song." "Recording that was definitely a time you would have seen me speechless," he confirmed. "Standing between those two, I couldn't say a word."

The Bellamy Brothers, John Conlee and Earl Thomas Conley are among Shelton's other dream duet partners. He's actually recorded with the Bellamys, though that track was not on Pure BS but on the soundtrack, The Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning.

"The Last Country Song," which Shelton had a hand in writing, describes the demolition of a favorite neighborhood hangout and bulldozing of rural land while at the same time addressing changes in Country Music today. "Country Music is changing," he said, "and whether it's for better or for worse, there's no stopping it."

Elsewhere on Pure BS, there's a surprise ending and a visit to the story-song roots of "Austin," the six-week, No. 1 debut single from his eponymous first album, on "I Don't Care." Listen as well for Shelton's take on the Craig Wiseman/Chris Knight tune "It Ain't Easy Being Me," which had also been recorded by Anderson and Knight before Lambert brought it to his attention. Songs by David Lee Murphy and Rachel Proctor, who contributes vocals as well as her writing talents, are also found on the album.

In addition to his longtime collaborator, Bobby Braddock, Shelton worked with producers Brent Rowan and Paul Worley on his new album. All three producers shared the same vision which sprang from his previous album, the Gold-selling Blake Shelton's Barn & Grill, produced by Braddock, which featured Shelton's hit remake of Conway Twitty's "Goodbye Time." Shelton insisted that when people heard the single, they frequently told him, "I didn't know you could sing like that."

Those comments inspired him to "showcase what I can do vocally a little more" on Pure BS. While still most comfortable with "hard-times, broken-heart drinking songs," Shelton and his producers looked as well for songs that "pushed me to sing better and to see how far my range could go, to try new things and see what's still inside of me that I haven't tapped yet. And I did find more of myself that I didn't know was there. I had to dig a little deeper and be uncomfortable again with somebody I didn't know that well in the studio and feel like I had something to prove to that person."

For all the exposure he's received recently on CBS with Ferguson and ABC-TV's "Jimmy Kimmel Live," Shelton is no newcomer to the camera, having made a series of popular - and strange - commercials that aired on Great American Country for Blake Shelton's Barn & Grill.

"My favorite one," he deadpanned, "was probably the one where I was hitting on the sheep."

Chalk it up as an unexpected side to one of the purest Country artists on the scene today, whose goal is as timeless as the traditions on which he draws: "I want to make those albums that last forever, that people never throw away. That's what I'm chasing."

Web: blakeshelton.com; oklahomaraindance.com
 

This year, however, marks McKenna's major label debut as an artist with Unglamorous, released Aug. 14 on Warner Bros. Records/Stylesonic Records. Its homespun lyricism transforms family life into poetry, and its sound marries co-producers Byron Gallimore's and Tim McGraw's sure-fire Country sensibilities to McKenna's alt-folk/rock aesthetic. Call it what you will: It's a winner.

In fact, McKenna has been making music of this caliber and documenting it on disc since 1998, when the Boston Globe included her independent debut, Paper Wings and Halo, on its selection of the year's Top 10 albums. Her writing draws from sources as diverse as traditional American folk, The Cure, Carole King, Alanis Morissette and James Taylor, the common denominators being taste, creativity and originality. What results is a narrative style that is unique to McKenna and a knack for melody and structure that earned her an Abe Olman Scholarship from ASCAP and the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2004.

Despite her emergence into the spotlight courtesy of Warner Bros., McKenna remains close to her roots. She still lives in the Boston area home where she and her longtime husband Gene, a plumber, continue to raise their five children, though in early June she left the neighborhood to perform on this summer's Tim McGraw/Faith Hill "Soul2Soul" extravaganza.

IN HER OWN WORDS:

Who is your musical hero?
"Bruce Springsteen."

What CD is on your stereo?
"Tim McGraw's Let It Go ."

What book is on your nightstand?
"'The Giving Tree' by Shel Silverstein."

What actor would portray you in a biopic about your life?
"Someone short."

Who is your dream duet partner?
"Levon Helm."

Web: lorimckenna.com