Does Blake Shelton Write His Own Songs? A Look at His Songwriting Journey

Country fans love a good debate — and one that’s sparked plenty of opinions over the years is this: Does Blake Shelton write his own songs? The question doesn’t just speak to curiosity about his music; it taps into a broader conversation in country and pop culture. Is an artist more “authentic” if they write their own material? Moreover, does not writing your own music make you less of a real artist?

As of 2025, Blake has been in the country music industry for over two decades. He has built a discography full of chart-toppers and radio staples. When it comes to songwriting, his approach challenges some assumptions about what it means to be an artist. Let’s take a closer look at the songwriting aspect of his career.

Blake has co-written a small number of songs throughout his career. These tend to be deeply personal tracks that reflect specific experiences in his life. One of the best-known examples is “Over You,” which he co-wrote with then-partner Miranda Lambert. The song was inspired by the death of his older brother and went on to win CMA and ACM Song of the Year, with Miranda performing it.

He also co-wrote “Savior’s Shadow,” a gospel ballad featured on the album “If I’m Honest,” during a difficult and transitional point in his personal life. According to NBC Insider, Blake has also written or co-written songs like “Go Ahead and Break My Heart” (a duet with Gwen Stefani), “Friends” (for The Angry Birds Movie soundtrack), and “I Still Got a Finger.”

These tracks show that while he’s selective about when he writes, Blake’s contributions are often meaningful and reflective of personal milestones.

Despite those contributions, Blake has always leaned more into interpreting great songs than writing them from scratch. This isn’t laziness — it’s a deliberate creative choice. In fact, Gwen once admitted in an interview with DJ Khalid that “he just doesn’t like writing that much. It makes me so mad.”

She added, "I wish he would write with me, but he doesn't really write anymore. We've actually written three songs together — we wrote a Christmas song together, and then we wrote two other songs."

Instead, Blake works closely with a circle of writers who understand his style, tone, and the stories he wants to tell. These frequent collaborators include Rhett Akins, Jessi Alexander, Craig Wiseman, and the late Michael Busbee. This network of trusted songwriters has played a major role in shaping his sound across albums like “Based on a True Story …” and “Texoma Shore.”

This approach is hardly unusual in country music, where even some of the most respected artists — from George Strait to Reba McEntire — have relied on professional songwriters for the bulk of their material.

The pressure to write your own songs isn’t unique to Blake. A discussion on the subject came up on Reddit back in 2022. Fans debated whether artists like Blake could be considered truly “great” if they outsource writing their own lyrics.

Some argued songwriting is essential to authenticity, while others pointed out that singing and songwriting are completely different skills, and it’s unfair to expect every artist to excel at both.

Blake fits neatly into that debate. He’s never positioned himself as a poet first. He’s a performer. He knows how to take a song — whether he wrote it or not — and make it feel honest, emotional, and uniquely his. That’s a skill not every artist has, and it’s one that often gets overlooked in conversations about creative ownership.

In the end, a great singer knows when a song fits, how to perform it with heart, and when to let someone else’s words do the talking. Blake doesn’t need to write every lyric to leave a mark — and, clearly, he already has.