Blake Shelton, Trace Adkins Want You to Raise ‘Hell Right’ in Rowdy New Collab
After boasting about their “Hillbilly Bone” in 2010, Blake Shelton and Trace Adkins reunite for Shelton’s new single “Hell Right.” It’s every bit as chest-puffing as one might expect, with Shelton commanding, “If you’re gonna raise hell, then you better damn raise hell right” in the tongue-twisting chorus.
Written by David Garcia, Brett Tyler, and Michael Hardy (a.k.a. the solo artist Hardy), the song takes a subtle jab at Lil Nas X’s is-it-country? sensation “Old Town Road.” “The girl from the small town took off the old town and put on a little Hank Jr.,” sings Shelton, to which Adkins replies, “Thank God.”
Still, this isn’t an indictment of hip-hop country crossovers, but a celebration of blowing off steam with a handle of booze and a bonfire, the party-ready antithesis to Shelton’s brooding last single “God’s Country.” The Oklahoma native and star of NBC’s The Voice also recently appeared on another duet: with Garth Brooks on the superstar’s “Dive Bar.”
“This song is about taking things to the max,” Shelton said of “Hell Right” in a statement. “You can raise hell or you can raise hell right. It’s about cutting loose and having fun the right way. I spend a lot of time in Los Angeles these days, but when I hear songs like this on the radio, I am immediately thinking about being back home and what I’d be doing if I was there.”