When Did Blake Shelton Make The Move To Nashville?

As one of country music's biggest stars with an estimated net worth of $100 million (via Celebrity Net Worth), it's unsurprising that Blake Shelton owns four homes in Los Angeles and Shelton's home state of Oklahoma (via Velvet Tropes). Sharing these abodes with his wife and fellow musician Gwen Stefani, Shelton's residences are a far cry from his established roots in Nashville at the beginning of his career.

In 1997, Shelton landed his first record contract after moving to the Tennessee capital before releasing his debut single "Austin" in 2001 (via Britannica). His first self-titled record followed soon after, and the success just kept coming for the country star. Now with more than a dozen hits under his belt and counting (via Pinnacle Global Network), Shelton has a lot to thank for his time in Nashville after moving there from the Great Plains of Oklahoma.

But when exactly did Blake Shelton make the move to Nashville?

Blake Shelton moved to the music heartland of Nashville pretty early on in his life. "I moved to Nashville after I graduated high school hoping to hear just one of my songs on country radio," the musician told Billboard.

Two months after he graduated high school, he followed his dream courtesy of the late singer-songwriter Mae Boren Axton who'd heard him perform while he was still at school (via Country Thang Daily). She also lived in Nashville, and as soon as he touched ground in Nashville she got him a job as a house painter.

Once the budding country star had settled in, Axton introduced him to some of the biggest names in the music industry. Shelton was also making connections himself through his second job at a publishing company. He was talking to songwriters so much that he actually got fired for not doing the job he'd signed up for.

When "The Voice" judge had made it with his debut single and album, Nashville became a second home. He owned residences in and out of the city while married to Miranda Lambert (via Velvet Tropes), as well following the couple's divorce in 2015 (via InStyle).

While Shelton may not live in the city anymore, his presence is certainly felt there. As Outsider notes, he has a restaurant and entertainment complex on the city's Broadway strip -– Blake Shelton's Ole Red (via Outsider).