US Weekly made the very puzzling decision to feature Lauren Conrad’s “broken heart” on the cover, as if it’s 2007 and she’s still a hot property. She doesn’t have a new book out, and she doesn’t even have a reality show with MTV after they passed on her earlier this year. (She did get a three book deal in April and it’s possible this cover is some kind of tie-in to try and maintain interest in her.)

This week’s US also has an exclusive interview with country star and judge on The Voice, Blake Shelton. A lot of people like Blake on The Voice, and he and his wife Miranda Lambert have a large fan base. Miranda and Blake should have scored the cover instead of Conrad, but maybe their wedding cover didn’t sell that well. Inside, Blake goes on about how much he loves Miranda and how he doesn’t even think about all the beautiful women he sees at his concerts, except for the fact that he notices that he’s not noticing them. He protests a little too much, but it’s kind of sweet. He also explains his drunken Twitter faux pas that was criticized as homophobic when he rewrote a Shania Twain lyric. He’s bumbling, and he likes to get his drink on. As for whether he was cheating on his last wife when he hooked up with Miranda, he denies that but goes on to say a couple of things that make it sound like that could have been the case. He was with Miranda for five years, so he took his time before proposing.

Inset: Did he cheat?
Shelton denies reports that he got together with Lambert in 2005 while he was still wed to Kaynette Williams, 38. (He and his former road manager divorced in 2006.) “I got a divorce, met Miranda and fell in love with her,” he says. “Life isn’t perfect, so you find what makes you happy and you do it.”

Now that you’re such a big star, there must be temptations with other women on the road:
You know it’s so far off my radar, and maybe that’s why it’s different all of a sudden now. I just played a country music festival in Manhattan, Kansas, and there were beautiful girls everywhere. And it didn’t even register. I don’t even go there. I mean, I do notice and say “Oh that’s a cute girl,” and it’s just amazing how it doesn’t ever go through my mind now beyond me thinking, I wish my tour manager would meet her. Or, She’s hot, I hope my buddy asks her out. It’s odd because I’m a normal, everyday red-blooded guy – but now that I’m married, it’s just not there anymore. I’m not blind, but at the same time, I don’t care. It’s crazy!

The Voice catapulted you into the spotlight. How are you handling all of the newfound attention?
It’s odd because the country fans have known me for 10 years, and they’re used to my personality. I could always get away with a lot more as far as my mouth goes. They know I’m either drunk or lying or just full of crap all the time. I mean, I’m not a politician. I’m an artist who makes records, and I am who I am. It’s always just me trying to be funny. But now it’s really polarizing all of a sudden. If I get on Twitter and say, “I just peed my pants!” the world goes, “What the hell is wrong with this guy?” It’s a quick learning curve, and I have to watch myself more these days.

Case in point: You came under fire in May after one of your tweets – that paraphrased a Shania Twain song – was deemed homophobic.
And that’s one of the more g-rated things I’ve ever written! I was just trying to be funny. In my world, there is no hate. I have a lot of gay friends and it makes me look at myself and go, Man, that would devastate me if they were hurt. I say all kinds of crazy stuff, but I learned a lesson. The first person that texted me was Adam Levine. He said, “You’re gonna have to watch what you say from now on. You say stupider stuff on Twitter than I do!” So it made me feel better because he taught me that people care what I say now. None of us ever meant to be TV stars, and we never thought we’d have to be politically correct all the time. So this is new.

[From US Weekly, print edition, July 11, 2011]

Oh he pulled the “gay friends” card. I originally thought he was just retweeting a Shania Twain lyric and that it sounded homophobic from a male point of view instead of Shania’s. That’s not the case, though. He rewrote the lyric entirely so that it sounded like it was threatening to a man that was hitting on him (or Shania). However, he later claimed he was rewriting the lyric from Shania’s point of view and had no idea it would be misinterpreted as coming from his POV. He wrote “Re-writing my fav Shania Twain song.. Any man that tries Touching my behind He’s gonna be a beaten, bleedin’, heaving kind of guy,” and Shania’s original lyric was “Any man of mine better walk the line – Better show me a teasin’ squeezin’ pleasin’ kinda time.” So it’s easy to see how that could be seen as homophobic, but it’s open to interpretation.

I’ve seen Blake on The Voice and he does come across as a really good guy. Maybe this dude shouldn’t drink and tweet anymore. That seems to be all he does lately if you check his Tweets. At least he’s not drinking and driving.

Blake and Miranda are shown on 6/13/10 and 2/13/11. Blake and his wife Kaynette Williams are shown in 2005. Check out his hair! Credit: WENN.com