Courtesy PEOPLE/Time Inc.
Courtesy PEOPLE/Time Inc.When fellow country superstar Luke Bryan found out People had named Blake Shelton its Sexiest Man Alive for 2017, he wanted to know, “Who the hell is choosing this?”
Well, the answer — at least in part — is People Executive Editor Kate Coyne.
Even she admits Blake is a choice a lot of folks didn’t see coming.
“I think it’s unexpected, unless you’re a Blake Shelton fan, in which case, it’s long overdue,” Coyne points out. “You know, I think going back to the year we made Adam Levine Sexiest Man Alive, that year also very much put Blake on our radar.”
In addition to some help from his rival on The Voice, Blake’s romance with Gwen Stefani propelled him toward the magazine’s cover.
“He’s such a great guy,” Coyne goes on, “but now more than ever, he’s being so open about how very much in love he is with his girlfriend Gwen Stefani, but also with her three boys, how much he adores them. And it’s provided a window into his personality, which really makes him even more appealing.”
Coyne says there’s no two ways about it: It was simply Blake’s year.
“He’s self-deprecating, he’s hilariously funny, he’s incredibly down to earth,” she adds. “And it just made him a hands-down winner, in a lot of ways.”
Another of Blake’s fellow country superstars, Keith Urban, puts it all in perspective: “I think one of the guys who won it one year was asked — I’ve forgotten who it was — they said, you know, ‘How does it feel to be the Sexiest Man Alive?’ He said, ‘Better than Sexiest Man Dead!’” he laughs. “There you go!”
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