Mid-Pandemic, Blake Shelton’s “Minimum Wage” Deemed Tone Deaf

Blake Shelton’s “Minimum Wage” was officially released on January 15, 2021. It’s the lead single from his upcoming album, which he will put out later this year. Jesse Frasure, Corey Crowder, and Nicolle Galyon wrote this single while Scott Hendricks produced it. 

However, it dominated the headlines even before it hit the record stores after its live premiere on December 31, 2020 during NBC’s televised event.

Although the Grammy-nominated country star clarified that he’s simply singing a love song, several radical Twitter users don’t agree so.

The lyrics “Your love is money / Yeah, your love can make a man feel rich on minimum wage” received backlash as it was deemed tone deaf by many listeners. 

With its explicitly socially relevant title, the song was released later in the same day when President-elect Joe Biden announced his stimulus plan. Part of his action plan was to increase the federal minimum wage to $15/hour, twice the current minimum wage amount. 

Unsurprisingly, the tune doesn’t try to unravel the crucial issue of income inequality across the USA.

Blake Shelton was quick to address the issue surrounding his latest single. He underscored the fact that the lyrics are singing about how love can make someone feel “rich” even when they’re actually “poor.”

However, many listeners didn’t buy his explanation, noting how he could release such a song during the period when unemployment rates have been skyrocketing. Other Twitter users highlighted that it’s insensitive of the singer to hint at the issue considering that he’s a multimillionaire, obviously receiving more than the minimum wage.

While the song leaves much room for interpretation, some fans of the country hitmaker took his side, noting his good intentions. 

In an interview with Country Music Television (CMT) two weeks after his New Year’s Eve performance, the singer spoke about his reality. He shrugged off the haters’ comments while saying that the song simply resonated with him since it’s a reminder of how he used to struggle in his years as a budding singer.

He continued speaking about how he was worried about paying his rent, just like any other struggling artist out there. Yet, he said that he wouldn’t trade his struggles for something else because those made him who he is today.

So sure about is stand, the multi-awarded country crooner simply ended his response to the bashers with the line, “We’ll just have to agree to disagree.”

Have you listened to “Blake Shelton’s Minimum Wage?” Do you think it’s enough to agree to disagree during the most problematic year in recent world history? 

Let us know what you think about the song. If you haven’t caught up with the lyrics yet, listen to the song below: