Blake Shelton photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Nashville.

8/7/2007 — Blake Shelton is pure Country — and that's no bull.

But he's more than that. He's a giver too — of advice to those who seek it, a good time to audiences who line up for it, and his time to those in serious need.

Most recently this has meant helping his fellow Oklahomans restore their land and lives after a drought brought devastating fires that destroyed or damaged more than 500 homes and 555,000 acres of farmland and forest. Shelton took action last year by launching Raindance!, a charity event that centered on a sold-out concert and raised more than $133,600 for Project Rebuild, the relief program sponsored by the Oklahoma Lumbermen's Association.

But even that amount of money hasn't satisfied the young superstar, who came back in 2007 for more. "I'm so happy it's been such a success," he declared. "And I want to keep it going because Project Rebuild will always have someone who can benefit. I want to give back not only to my home community [of Ada, Okla.,] but also the whole state. Besides that, I just have fun doing it. Most of these guys that come in are people I just look for an excuse to hang out with."

This year's three-day event in April raised more than $100,000 and once again brought team roping competitions, archery tournaments (including a celebrity shootout) and a concert complete with silent auction. Last year, Shelton recruited Keith Anderson, Tracy Byrd, Andy Griggs and others to join him. The lineup this year included Neal McCoy and Craig Morgan — who, Shelton said with a grin, needed a bit of convincing.

"I told him about the turkey hunt and he jumped onboard then. Yes, it's unbelievable just how red some of us are," he joked.

The clout that Shelton demonstrates in organizing Raindance! reflects just how bright his star has grown, with recent appearances in People and on "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" coinciding with the May 1 release of new album, Pure BS, and a run as a judge on "Nashville Star." He was a little doubtful, actually, about accepting that invitation from USA Network's "Nashville Star," thinking that his off-kilter sense of humor might leave him mistaken for "some beach." But the votes tallied in his favor in the end.

"I figured after eight episodes people would finally go, 'OK, I get this guy now,'" he said. "I would watch the Web site and saw the hate comments getting fewer and fewer, so I'm glad it worked out that way. And I was really surprised with the level of talent on the show. Some days, it was tough to find something critical to say about any of the contestants. I have a lot of respect for all of them."

Asked about fellow judge Anastasia Brown, Shelton said he hopes people don't get the wrong idea from their sometimes barbed exchanges. "As a matter of fact, I really like Anastasia," he insisted. "She's one of the people I see around Nashville who always has a smile on her face. She's so easy to approach. Of course, you know I picked on her and she picked on me too, about the way I dress. But I do know people love to hate her and she's been really good for the show."

For her part, Brown described herself as "proud to be Blake's partner in crime and proud to be a part of the 'Nashville Star' team. It's done nothing but good things for our city and industry and all of the people associated with it."

She admitted to worrying sometimes about how her constructive criticism of contestants might go down with viewers, but "my previous business partner, Miles Copeland, influenced me with this thought: You either make decisions based in fear or passion. Do not ever allow fear to guide you. I love music and art, so that's how I make my decisions. I can't worry about what people think. I always try to be honest and fair while focusing on areas of critique different than my co-judges."