If I'm Honest

If I'm Honest is the tenth studio album by American country music singer Blake Shelton. It was released on May 20, 2016 via Warner Bros. Nashville. The album was produced by Shelton's longtime producer Scott Hendricks and features collaborations with Gwen Stefani and The Oak Ridge Boys.^[1]

If I'm Honest
Studio album by Blake Shelton
Released	May 20, 2016 (2016-05-20)
Recorded	2016
Genre	Country
Length	50:31
Label	Warner Bros. Nashville
Producer	Scott Hendricks
Blake Shelton chronology
Reloaded: 20 No. 1 Hits (2015) If I'm Honest (2016) Texoma Shore (2017)
Singles from If I'm Honest
"Came Here to Forget" Released: March 8, 2016 "Savior's Shadow" Released: April 8, 2016 "She's Got a Way with Words" Released: June 6, 2016 "A Guy with a Girl" Released: September 26, 2016 "Every Time I Hear That Song" Released: February 20, 2017

Background

According to Shelton the album is very personal and addresses his high and lows of 2015.^[1]

One of the album's tracks, "Green", was previously included on Shelton's 2008 album Startin' Fires.

The album's tenth track "Friends", is the theme song to the 2016 film The Angry Birds Movie, which was released on the same day as the album. The song is also featured on its corresponding soundtrack.

Singles

"Came Here to Forget" is the album's first single, and it was released on March 8, 2016. The song debuted at number one on the Country Digital Chart and has sold 136,000 copies as of March 2016.^[2][3]

The second single from the album, "Savior's Shadow", was released on April 8, 2016.^[4] This song impacted Christian radio on April 11, 2016 in addition to the country format.^[5]

"She's Got a Way with Words" was released on June 6, 2016 as the album's third overall and second promotional single.^[6]

"A Guy with a Girl" became the album's fourth single on September 26, 2016.^[7]

"Every Time I Hear That Song" was released as the fifth and final single on February 20, 2017.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	58/100^[8]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[9]
Consequence of Sound	C^[10]
Entertainment Weekly	C^[11]
Knoxville News Sentinel	^[12]
Newsday	B+^[13]
Rolling Stone	^[14]

If I'm Honest was met with generally mixed reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 58, based on 5 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".^[8]

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic wrote that the album "is at its core a balladeer's record," and that Shelton pulls off "these romance tunes with a sly, masculine grace that complements the album's sleek modern surfaces."^[9] Jim Farber of Entertainment Weekly stated that, "What's more: the album’s breezy Nashville-pop tunes never strike below the surface. Small wonder the toss-off songs seem more credible."^[11] Rolling Stone's Keith Harris reported that "Shelton's warmly confident delivery makes those romantic twists and turns sound both lived in but universal".^[14]

Glenn Gamboa of Newsday opined that the bulk of the album "is a mix of letting old relationships go and starting new ones."^[13] In a review for the Los Angeles Times, Mikael Wood suggests in the home of country music, "the default setting is polished professionalism; rawness actually takes time. And here Shelton seldom pushes beyond that finesse to reach something less smooth."^[15] Erik Ernst, writing for Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, opines that "this disc's balance of modern verve, emotional introspection and country inflection is where Shelton is supposed to be."^[16] In its review for Consequence of Sound, Janine Schaults commented that "The Country pop star's post-breakup album flounders under too many glitzy, cheesy pop flourishes."^[10] Chuck Campbell from the Knoxville News Sentinel said that "Blake Shelton sounds more like a savvy marketer than any kind of artist".^[12]

Commercial performance

The album debuted at No. 3 on US Billboard 200 chart, selling 153,000 copies (170,000 album equivalent units) during its first week.^[17] It also debuted at No. 1 the Top Country Albums chart. The album was certified Gold by the RIAA on August 23, 2016.^[18] It became the eleventh best-selling album of 2016 in the United States with over 522,000 copies sold that year.^[19] As of November 2017, the album has sold 627,300 copies in the U.S.^[20]

Track listing

If I'm Honest track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Straight Outta Cold Beer"	Marv Green Ben Hayslip Justin Wilson	2:45
2.	"She's Got a Way with Words"	Wyatt Earp Andy Albert Marc Beeson	3:11
3.	"Bet You Still Think About Me"	Park Chisolm Mark Irwin	3:55
4.	"Every Time I Hear That Song"	Aimee Mayo Chris Lindsey Brad Warren Brett Warren	3:35
5.	"Came Here to Forget"	Deric Ruttan Craig Wiseman	3:40
6.	"Every Goodbye"	Ryan Hurd busbee Liz Rose	3:10
7.	"It Ain't Easy"	Matt Dragstrem Hayslip Rhett Akins	3:31
8.	"A Guy with a Girl"	Ashley Gorley Bryan Simpson	3:10
9.	"Go Ahead and Break My Heart" (featuring Gwen Stefani)	Blake Shelton Gwen Stefani	4:25
10.	"Friends" (from The Angry Birds Movie)	Shelton Jessi Alexander	3:03
11.	"One Night Girl"	Gorley Dallas Davidson	3:41
12.	"Doing It to Country Songs" (featuring The Oak Ridge Boys)	Jacob Lyda Paul Overstreet Marty Dodson	3:02
13.	"Green"	George Teren Wiseman	3:11
14.	"You Can't Make This Up"	Gorley Zach Crowell Rodney Clawson	3:30
15.	"Savior's Shadow"	Shelton Alexander Jon Randall	2:45
Total length:			50:31

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of the standard edition of If I'm Honest.^[21]

Blake Shelton – lead vocals Roy Agee – trombone Duane Allen – background vocals Hari Bernstein – viola Jessica Blackwell – violin Joe Bonsall – background vocals Tom Bukovac – electric guitar Perry Coleman – background vocals Paul DiGiovanni – programming Charles Dixon – cello Paul Franklin – pedal steel guitar William Lee Golden – background vocals Aubrey Haynie – fiddle, mandolin Steve Herrmann – trumpet Wes Hightower – background vocals

Jim Horn – saxophone Charlie Judge – string arrangements, synthesizer Troy Lancaster – electric guitar Tony Lucido – bass guitar Gordon Mote – Hammond B-3 organ, keyboards, piano Emily Nelson – cello Russ Pahl – pedal steel guitar Jimmie Lee Sloas – bass guitar Gwen Stefani – guest vocals Richard Sterban – background vocals Bryan Sutton – acoustic guitar Ilya Toshinsky – acoustic guitar Derek Wells – acoustic guitar, electro-acoustic guitar Nir Z. – drums, percussion, programming

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for If I'm Honest Chart (2016) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)^[22] 13 Australian Country Albums (ARIA)^[23] 2 Canadian Albums (Billboard)^[24] 3 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)^[25] 21 US Billboard 200^[26] 3 US Top Country Albums (Billboard)^[27] 1

Year-end charts 2016 year-end chart performance for If I'm Honest Chart (2016) Position US Billboard 200^[28] 41 US Top Country Albums (Billboard)^[29] 3 2017 year-end chart performance for If I'm Honest Chart (2017) Position US Billboard 200^[30] 129 US Top Country Albums (Billboard)^[31] 19

Certifications

Certifications for If I'm Honest

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)^[32]	Gold	40,000^‡
United States (RIAA)^[18]	Platinum	627,300^[20]
^‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

List of release dates, showing region, formats, label, editions, catalog number and reference

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label	Edition(s)	Catalog number	Ref.
United States	May 20, 2016 (2016-05-20)	CD digital download	Warner Bros. Nashville	Standard		^[1]

References

1. Reuter, Annie (April 19, 2016). "Blake Shelton Reveals Album Cover, Gwen Stefani Song on 'If I'm Honest'". Taste of Country.
2. Asker, Jim (March 15, 2016). "Cole Swindell & Carrie Underwood Take Over Country Songs Charts". Billboard. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
3. Bjorke, Matt (March 27, 2016). "Top 30 Digital Country Singles Chart: March 29, 2016". Roughstock. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
4. . iTunes Store (US). April 8, 2016. Archived from the original on May 2, 2016. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
5. Roland, Tom (May 11, 2016). "Blake Shelton Steps Out of His Own Past With 'Savior's Shadow'". Billboard. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
6. "Billboard Country Update" (PDF). Billboard. May 31, 2016. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
7. "Blake Shelton's Next Single "A Guy with a Girl" Heads to Country Radio on 9/26". 20 September 2016.
8. Metacritic (May 20, 2016). "Critic Reviews for I'f I'm Honest from Blake Shelton". Metacritic. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
9. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (May 20, 2016). "I'f I'm Honest – Blake Shelton | Review". AllMusic. Retrieved May 20, 2016.
10. Schaults, Janine (May 24, 2016). "Blake Shelton – If I'm Being Honest | Album Reviews". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved May 24, 2016.
11. Farber, Jim (May 20, 2016). "Blake Shelton's If I'm Honest: EW Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 20, 2016.
12. Campbell, Chuck (May 24, 2016). "Music review: Truth is elusive on Blake Shelton's 'Honest'". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved May 27, 2016.
13. Gamboa, Glenn (May 18, 2016). "'If I'm Honest' review: Blake Shelton opens up about his past, present love life". Newsday. Retrieved May 20, 2016.
14. Harris, Keith (May 20, 2016). "Blake Shelton's New Album: If I'm Honest". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 20, 2016.
15. Wood, Mikael (May 20, 2016). "Review: Blake Shelton could use more truth on the too-polished 'If I'm Honest'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 20, 2016.
16. Ernst, Erik (May 20, 2016). "Album Reviews: Bob Dylan, Ariana Grande, Eric Clapton, Blake Shelton". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved May 20, 2016.
17. Caulfield, Keith (May 29, 2016). "Drake's 'Views' Still No. 1 on Billboard 200, Ariana Grande and Blake Shelton Debut at Nos. 2 & 3". Billboard. Retrieved June 10, 2016.
18. "American album certifications – Blake Shelton – If I'm Honest". Recording Industry Association of America.
19. Grein, Paul (December 20, 2016). "The Top-Selling Albums of 2016". Yahoo Music!.
20. Bjorke, Matt (November 13, 2017). "Top 10 Country Albums Chart: November 13, 2017". Roughstock.
21. If I'm Honest (international deluxe edition liner notes). Blake Shelton. Warner Bros. Nashville. 2016.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
22. "Australiancharts.com – Blake Shelton – If I'm Honest". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 28, 2016.
23. "ARIA Australian Top 50 Country Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. May 16, 2016. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
24. "Blake Shelton Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
25. "Charts.nz – Blake Shelton – If I'm Honest". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 27, 2016.
26. "Blake Shelton Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 29, 2016.
27. "Blake Shelton Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
28. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2016". Billboard. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
29. "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2016". Billboard. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
30. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2017". Billboard. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
31. "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2017". Billboard. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
32. "Canadian album certifications – Blake Shelton – If I'm Honest". Music Canada. Retrieved September 9, 2023.