{"id":2183,"date":"2025-03-31T13:56:48","date_gmt":"2025-03-31T13:56:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/?p=2183"},"modified":"2025-03-31T13:56:48","modified_gmt":"2025-03-31T13:56:48","slug":"let-him-in-anyway-made-gwen-stefani-cry-and-nearly-gave-a-label-exec-a-heart-attack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/?p=2183","title":{"rendered":"\u201cLet Him In Anyway\u201d Made Gwen Stefani Cry\u2014And Nearly Gave a Label Exec a Heart Attack"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Blake Shelton is no stranger to heartfelt country songs, but his latest track may be the most emotionally intense of his career\u2014and possibly the most medically alarming.<\/p>\n

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\u201cLet Him In Anyway,\u201d an unreleased cut from Shelton\u2019s upcoming album\u00a0For Recreational Use Only<\/em>, has already left a trail of tears\u2014and one emergency hospital visit\u2014before its official debut.<\/p>\n

Written by a powerhouse team including Hardy, Zach Abend, Kyle Clark, and Carson Wallace, the song tackles a deeply spiritual and emotional subject: grappling with the loss of a loved one who may not have lived a perfect life, and praying for divine mercy anyway. The lyrics, raw and unflinching, offer a plea that\u2019s resonated with nearly everyone who\u2019s heard it:<\/p>\n

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\u201cHey, God \/ I know you know what I\u2019m \u2019bout to pray, God \/ I just had to suck it up and say goodbye to my best friend \/ And I don\u2019t ever wanna never see him again \/ And I know the only way to get in is through you \/ And he wasn\u2019t quite the Christian he was supposed to be \/ And Lord, it ain\u2019t my place \/ But could you let him in anyway?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Shelton\u2019s wife, Gwen Stefani, had a visceral reaction when she first heard the song\u2014one so powerful it threatened to ruin her evening makeup. \u201cShe cried the first time she heard it,\u201d said Jon Loba, President of Frontline Recordings North America. \u201cThen she played it again and cried. Then again. Blake had to tell her, \u2018Sweetie, you gotta get yourself together. We gotta go to this event.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

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But the song\u2019s most dramatic impact was on Chris Oglesby, Sr. VP of Creative at BMG, who heard it just weeks after delivering a eulogy for his brother-in-law. Knowing Oglesby had been struggling, Loba played the track for him privately.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe starts to bawl his eyes out,\u201d Loba recalled. \u201cI bawl my eyes out. He says thank you and leaves.\u201d<\/p>\n

Minutes later, Oglesby returned to hear the song again during another listening session. But mid-way through, he abruptly stood up and left. What initially seemed like an emotional overload turned out to be far more serious.<\/p>\n

Soon after, Loba got word from a colleague: Oglesby was driving himself to the hospital, convinced he was having a heart attack.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe planned to go to Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital Midtown but had to stop at Vanderbilt University Medical Center instead,\u201d Loba said. \u201cTurns out, he\u00a0was<\/em>\u00a0having a heart attack. They put in two stents, and two weeks later, they added two more.\u201d<\/p>\n

Oglesby later admitted he\u2019d felt some minor heart flutters earlier in the week, but said it was the overwhelming emotional weight of the song that tipped him over the edge.<\/p>\n

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Fortunately, Oglesby is now on the mend\u2014and feeling better than ever. Loba quipped that Shelton and the team behind the track were \u201calmost brought up on murder charges.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for the song, its resonance only continues to grow. Before it\u2019s even hit streaming platforms, \u201cLet Him In Anyway\u201d has proven that country music can still touch the soul\u2014and, in rare cases, shake it to its very core.<\/p>\n

Blake Shelton\u2019s\u00a0For Recreational Use Only<\/em>\u00a0is set to release later this year. But one thing\u2019s already certain: it won\u2019t be a record anyone forgets.<\/p>\n