The Country Ballad Blake Shelton Featured on Two Albums and Regrets Never Releasing as a Single

When Blake Shelton released his fourth album Pure BS in 2007, he hit No. 1 with on the Country shart with single “Home,” and broke the Top 20 with singles “Don’t Make Me” and “The More I Drink.” On the album there was also a deeper cut, “I Don’t Care,” that Shelton regretted never releasing as a single.

Though Pure BS went to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot Country Albums chart and peaked at No. 8 on the 200, Shelton’s lovelorn ballad never got its shot on the charts.

“Back in the day I wanted this song to be a single so bad I put it on two different albums,” said Shelton, reminiscing about the song on Instagram in 2022. “We never got to it and I still regret it. Thought I’d dig it out for y’all. It’s called ‘I Don’t Care.’”

“I Don’t Care”

Written by Dean Dillon and Casey Beathard for Shelton, “I Don’t Care” was written from the perspective of a man who is still in denial about his feelings for a past love.

[RELATED: 4 Songs You Didn’t Know Blake Shelton Wrote for Other Artists]

There she was
Laughin’, talkin’, window shoppin’ with the new guy
And I’d heard about him
I heard she found him right around when we said goodbye

And I came real close and almost lost my temper
But I bit my tongue, kept my cool, ’cause I remembered-

I don’t care
She don’t matter
I don’t love her anymore, he can have her
I don’t know why it slips my mind
I tell myself all the time
Guess I forgot again for a second there
That I don’t care

After releasing “I Don’t Care” on Pure BS, Shelton gave it another shot as s single by included it on his 2008 album Startin’ Fires, but it still never had its chance on the charts.

Following Shelton’s Instagram post, fans declared the song a lost No. 1 for the country artist. “This song is real deal country tear jerker,” wrote one Instagram user. Another added, “This would be a number one.”

Photo: Stephen Lovekin / Getty Images for Big Barrel