Startin' Fires is the fifth studio album by American country music singer Blake Shelton. The album was released on November 18, 2008 via Warner Bros. Nashville. Its lead-off single, "She Wouldn't Be Gone", became Shelton's fifth number one hit on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart for the week of February 7, 2009. "I'll Just Hold On" was released as the album's second single. For Starting Fires, Shelton co-wrote two tracks.

Startin' Fires
Studio album by
ReleasedNovember 18, 2008 (2008-11-18)
GenreCountry
Length43:44
LabelWarner Bros. Nashville
Producer
Blake Shelton chronology
Pure BS
(2007)
Startin' Fires
(2008)
Hillbilly Bone
(2010)
Singles from Startin' Fires
  1. "She Wouldn't Be Gone"
    Released: August 18, 2008
  2. "I'll Just Hold On"
    Released: February 23, 2009
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Entertainment WeeklyB−[2]
Roughstock(positive)[3]
About.com[4]

Content

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In an interview with CMT, Shelton explained the album title saying, "it just seemed like the right statement for what we're trying to do with my career right now. And I never felt confident enough to make a statement like that on an album title - not until now. I feel like I'm coming with the most momentum that I've ever had on a record."[5]

The first single, "She Wouldn't Be Gone", debuted at number 52 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart for the week of August 23, 2008. It reached a peak of Number One on the chart week of February 7, 2009. "I'll Just Hold On" was released in February 2009 as the second single, which debuted at number 60 and peaked at number 8.

One of the album's songs, "I Don't Care", was first featured on Shelton's previous album, Pure BS. According to About.com, Shelton explained that he wanted the song to be "given its due", since it had not been released as a single.[4] The song was not re-recorded for Startin' Fires.[3]

Scott Hendricks produced all but two tracks on the album. "This Is Gonna Take All Night" was produced by Brent Rowan, and "I Don't Care" was produced by Bobby Braddock.[6] Shelton co-wrote the track "Bare Skin Rug" with his future wife, Miranda Lambert, who also sings duet vocals on it.[6]

Track listing

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No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Green"George Teren, Craig Wiseman3:00
2."Good at Startin' Fires"Sherrié Austin, Will Rambeaux, John Stephan3:02
3."She Wouldn't Be Gone"Jennifer Adan, Cory Batten3:36
4."I'll Just Hold On"Ben Hayslip, Troy Olsen, Bryan Simpson4:00
5."100 Miles"Chris Stapleton, Wiseman3:29
6."Never Lovin' You"Kendell Marvel, Stapleton4:39
7."Country Strong"Rhett Akins, Dallas Davidson, Hayslip3:14
8."Home Sweet Home"Akins, Davidson, Hayslip3:55
9."This Is Gonna Take All Night"Chris DuBois, Ashley Gorley3:17
10."Here I Am"Blake Shelton, Dean Dillon3:52
11."I Don't Care"Casey Beathard, Dillon3:53
12."Bare Skin Rug" (duet with Miranda Lambert)Shelton, Lambert3:47
Total length:43:44

Personnel

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Chart performance

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Singles

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Year Single Peak chart positions
US Country US CAN
2008 "She Wouldn't Be Gone" 1 43 70
2009 "I'll Just Hold On" 8 76
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Release history

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Region Date
United States November 18, 2008

References

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  1. ^ Leggett, Steve. "Startin' Fires review". Allmusic. Retrieved July 17, 2011.
  2. ^ Wood, Mikael (November 12, 2008). "Startin' Fires review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 17, 2011.
  3. ^ a b Bjorke, Matt. "Blake Shelton - Startin' Fires". Roughstock. Archived from the original on February 16, 2012. Retrieved July 17, 2011.
  4. ^ a b Bauman, Sue. "Blake Shelton - 'Startin' Fires'". About.com. Archived from the original on January 26, 2009. Retrieved July 17, 2011.
  5. ^ Whitney Self (November 18, 2008). "Blake Shelton's Startin' Fires Sparks New Phase of His Career". CMT. Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  6. ^ a b "Blake Shelton readies fifth CD". Country Standard Time. October 3, 2008. Archived from the original on November 2, 2013. Retrieved October 21, 2008.
  7. ^ "Blake Shelton Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
  8. ^ "Blake Shelton Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
  9. ^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2009". Billboard. Retrieved December 20, 2020.