Blake Shelton sparks backlash over ‘tone deaf’ new song about fiancée Gwen Stefani

On any other occasion, a love song would probably go down as a wholesome treat, but Blake Shelton’s public display of affection didn’t exactly get the desired response.

On New Year’s Eve, the country singer appeared on NBC’s holiday special to debut the music video for his new song, ‘Minimum Wage’. And if that title already sounds suspicious, just you wait.

The tune is dedicated to his fiancée, singer Gwen Stefani, who he met when they both took on coaching duties on the US version of The Voice. The pair started dating in 2015 and announced their engagement in October this year.

In his questionable ode to Stefani, the chorus contains some eyebrow-raising lyrics that struck people as extremely tone deaf: "Girl, your love can make a man feel rich on minimum wage."

The song immediately sparked backlash for being insensitive to people’s struggles during a financially difficult time. Coming from a multi-millionaire, it’s not exactly a good look. During 2020, the US faced rapidly rising unemployment as the pandemic decimated the job market.

Others defended Shelton by arguing that country music is often told from the perspective of the working class, and singing about minimum wage is no different.

Well, that’s one way to end 2020.