Gwen Stefani Says Blake Shelton’s Ranch Is Like Jurassic Park, Explains How It Inspired Her Christmas Album
Gwen Stefani recently revealed that her new holiday album, You Make It Feel Like Christmas, is partially inspired by some of the four-legged creatures that roam around Blake Shelton’s Oklahoma home.
It’s no secret that Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton love spending time together at Blake’s sprawling ranch in Oklahoma, but sometimes Gwen likes to go exploring alone. The secluded property is surrounded by trees, making it the perfect place for Gwen to get a workout in far from the prying camera lenses of the paparazzi. “The Sweet Escape” singer was doing just that when inspiration for her first original Christmas song struck. However, as Gwen recounted to Entertainment Weekly, she wasn’t thinking about snowmen and silver bells during her run.
Blake Shelton’s ranch is populated by a large number of white-tailed deer, but it wasn’t an encounter with the cousins of Santa’s reindeer that made Stefani start dreaming of a Christmas album; the critters that got her creative juices flowing are more closely related to the beef cattle that can be found on many Oklahoma ranches.
“I was at Blake’s ranch in Oklahoma [this year] and there are all these exotic animals — like wildebeests! It’s like Jurassic Park,” the singer said.
Luckily, Stefani have to worry about trying to outrun any hungry Velociraptors, so she was able to relax and admire the placid plant eaters.
“So I was out there thinking to myself, ‘If I wrote a Christmas song, what would it be?’ And, literally, this whole chorus comes out of my mouth! I was just singing out loud, by myself, with the wildebeests, this song called ‘Christmas Eve.'”
Gwen Stefani doesn’t mention wildebeests or dinosaurs in “Christmas Eve.” She said that she was praying when the lyrics came to her, so it should come as no surprise that the song is about her faith. Stefani sings about feeling lost and seeking forgiveness on Christmas Eve.
“I’m looking for you on Christmas Eve. All over the world the angels sing. But I’m feeling lost can you save me,” the “No Doubt” frontwoman croons in the heartfelt holiday tune.
It’s fitting that the song came to Gwen while she was visiting Blake Shelton’s ranch because it ended up being his favorite song on her Christmas album. In fact, Gwen told Billboard that Blake loved “Christmas Eve” so much that he decided to record his own version of the tune. He enlisted kids from the Children’s Hospital of Nashville to sing part of the song, and it was no easy feat setting up a studio in the hospital and meeting a one-week deadline. However, Blake Shelton made it happen, and Gwen Stefani calls the result a “Christmas-y miracle.” According to KWBE, fans can hear Blake’s version of “Christmas Eve” on the new edition of his Christmas album, Cheers, It’s Christmas.
One of the most talked-about songs on Gwen Stefani’s new album is its titular tune, the duet she recorded with Blake Shelton. Gwen didn’t come up with “You Make It Feel Like Christmas” during a run on her boyfriend’s ranch; Blake conjured up the upbeat ode to love and the holidays while he was hanging out on her tour bus.
“But he was on the bus and he was just sitting around and he came up with the ‘I wanna thank ya baby’ melody and he’s like, ‘I was just sitting around and thinking about this idea and I don’t know if you can do anything with it,'” Gwen recalled. “He’s so humble it’s stupid. When I heard it I was like, ‘Oh my God, you are such a jerk! You just sent me a hit!'”
During an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Blake Shelton said that Gwen Stefani’s entire family loves visiting his ranch. They’ve already spent a lot of holidays there, so they might head to the Sooner State sometime during the Christmas season. Thanks to Gwen, they now have the perfect soundtrack for their holiday celebration.
[Featured Image by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images]
