Blake Shelton photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Nashville.

With the success of his 2008 chart-topper "Home," Blake Shelton took a long career step forward. With the release of Startin' Fires, he leaps to a whole new level.

"Home" took Blake into new musical territory, stretching him vocally and stylistically, helping him expand his audience to include those who might have missed the more traditional approach he'd taken to that point. Startin' Fires, his fifth album, completes that journey, establishing him in the process as one of country music's most talented and versatile song stylists.

"This is something I've been wanting to do," he says, "exploring richer melodies and challenging myself as a singer."

Perhaps nowhere is his success more evident than in the project's first single. "'She Wouldn't Be Gone' is definitely not the typical cut you'd hear on one of my albums," he says. "It's got a lot of minor chords and a unique melody for country music. Vocally, it's one of the tougher songs I'll ever sing and I love that. You have to have the right song and the right timing to do that, and 'Home' kind of opened the door for me."

Long-time fans will find that Blake honors his roots as well. Long known for the way he wraps his rich baritone around both emotion-laden ballads like "Austin" and "The Baby" and light-hearted party anthems like "Some Beach" and "The More I Drink," he tackles songs about country life and attitudes with more joyful assurance than ever, bringing his personality to bear on the record as never before.

"I think this album is probably more autobiographical than anything I've ever done," he says. "While Pure BS was a kind of reflection of what I was going through at the time, this album is a reflection of who I am and the things I love and always have--driving back roads, drinking beer, being outdoors. Hell, I finally found a song that has deer in it and that tickled me. People know these things about me, but I've never really had that in my music, and I'm finally dumping myself onto my album. It's about who I am personally, and I hope other people can relate to it.

That autobiographical tone kicks off the album in the rollicking Craig Wiseman/George Teren barnburner "Green."

"That's what I do," he says of the song's rural images. "I sit with my guitar, plant corn and watch the deer and hawks. When I left the house this morning, there was camouflage hanging on the clothesline--as redneck as it gets. And it's funny, the lifestyle I've lived for years and years has become the new green movement. It's my favorite song on the album because I can sing that with a big smile on my face, confident that people are getting a hundred percent who I am as a person."

The album has plenty of all the elements that make Blake the multidimensional artist he is today--soaring melodies, passionate lyrics, a bit of romance, and songs that celebrate the country life.

"I think this album takes things a step above where they have been," he says. "It shows me as the artist I've always wanted to be, which is somebody with a fresh sound that when you hear it, you think, 'That's got Blake Shelton's stamp on it.'"

To that end, songs like "She Wouldn't Be Gone" and "I'll Just Hold On" are twin showcases for the challenging vocal approach Blake is taking, while "100 Miles" has its own riches both vocally and emotionally. Blake is at his romantic best in "Here I Am," which he co-wrote with Dean Dillon, and "This Is Gonna Take All Night." The classic sound that has nailed down his country bona fides is evident in "Never Lovin' You," and there is his trademark down-home wit and the celebration of the country life in songs like "Home Sweet Home" and "Country Strong."