Blake Shelton has been helping Gwen Stefani raise her three sons for the past decade and now the country superstar has offered a rare update on their interests, revealing he has been a big influence on 16-year-old Zuma.
Both Zuma and his older brother Kingston, 18, have followed in their parents footsteps with a love of music – their dad is Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale – but Blake has shared that Zuma in particular has found a love of country music.
Country music fan
“He’s leaning into country music pretty much 150 percent,” said Blake. “He’s a fan of older country music and newer country music, which has been pretty crazy for us to see.”
Blake told People that he has never tried to “force” his music on the boys, adding: “I think just accidentally throughout his lifetime, when he rides in the truck with me somewhere, he can’t help but hear whatever station I have on.”
Strong connection
Blake praised Gwen and Gavin for showing the boys how to find their confidence on the stage, admitting he was never that calm when he first stood on the stage.
Bush frontman Gavin remains close with all three of his sons and has a cordial relationship as a co-parent with Blake and Gwen, his wife from 2002-2016.
They are also parents to Apollo, 11.
Budding musicians
Both Kingston and Zuma have performed on the stage in Blake’s bar Ole Red in Tishomingo, Oklahoma, and in April Blake spread the word of his stepson’s return by rallying his nearly seven million followers to show up for his show if they were in the area.
“Hey y’all our boy Zuma is gonna do a 6pm performance at @olered Tishomingo restaurant this Friday!” he wrote on his Instagram Stories. “Come check him out!”
Kingston’s future
Kingston appears to be following closely in his father’s footsteps with a love of rock music including the Deftones and the Smashing Pumpkins.
But Blake is over the moon regardless of the genre that the boys are into, even going so far as to buy Kingston a Logic studio to help him learn the recording process, and reveal that he is leaning towards life as a songwriter.
“As opposed to really recording so much for himself, he’s begun to work with other people and he’s written some way legit, Justin Bieber-quality singles. I’m like, ‘Oh god, it’s really good. I can’t believe it.’ He has such a great ear for melody,” Blake told Us Weekly.
