Listen: Blake Shelton covers the "Footloose" theme song for remake
What a red-letter day for Oklahoma country music star Blake Shelton.
Shelton, who lives in Tishomingo, has recorded a new version of the iconic theme from “Footloose” for the upcoming remake of the well-loved 1984 dance drama. Shelton’s cover of Kenny Loggins’ famed hit premiered exclusively today on TheBoot.com.
To hear Shelton cut “Footloose,” click here.
Shelton told TheBoot.com that the movie’s producers initially approached him to cut another song for the remake’s soundtrack and wanted a woman singer to belt the new version of the title theme. But he convinced them to let him do the cover.
“They threw out ideas for some other songs for me, but I finally just campaigned enough and whined about it enough that they said, ‘Why don’t you cut it, and just let them hear your version?’ So I cut it, gave it to them and they wanted to go with mine. I really lucked out,’” he told TheBoot.com.
Shelton isn’t the only country artist contributing music to the 2011 “Footloose” soundtrack: Big & Rich with Gretchen Wilson, Zac Brown, Whitney Duncan, Jana Kramer and Hunter Hayes with Nickelodeon star Victoria Justice. Also providing tunes for the new movie are Shelton’s fellow “The Voice” star Cee Lo Green with Kenny Wayne Shepherd, The Smashing Pumpkins, White Stripes and Three 6 Mafia.
“It’s music that was rock back then but is country now. That’s where those songs would fit in today in the music industry — they sound like the country format,” Shelton told TheBoot.com. “I think they did the right thing by finding the artists who fit that movie, too — and not just country artists, Cee Lo is on there, too. To do those songs justice, you have to find the right artist for the movie. That’s probably why they went with a lot of country artists. The movie is based in a small town full of country people.”
Due in theaters Oct. 14, “Footloose” follows closely to the dance steps of the 1984 original film, which made Kevin Bacon a star. The remake stars newcomer Kenny Wormald, country singer/dancing TV personality Julianne Hough and Dennis Quaid and is written and directed by Craig Brewer, who made the music-driven movies “Hustle & Flow” and “Black Snake Moan.”
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