“Let’s put the musicians first”: Lee Metzger and Blake Shelton on bringing authenticity to the music business with The Road

The newest music reality show, The Road, is not what viewers expect from this genre. The Road is taking a step further by bringing a fresh perspective to the music reality show scene. 

Executive producer of the show, Lee Metzger, is known for his successful music reality show, The Voice. 

He candidly points out in his previous show, The Voice, that he essentially did not make somebody’s musical career. So, now he wants to highlight musicians, not celebrities, for his upcoming music competition. He stated, as reported by The Wrap on October 26, 2025: 

“We had a lot of success as a TV show on The Voice, Blake and I and everyone else involved, but we didn’t really build careers for a lot of those musicians. The real thing here was, let’s put the musicians first and put the celebrity second.” 

He further explained that he wanted musicians to come and play original music. Lee remarked:

“It felt like the way to do that was to let these musicians come on and sing original music every week.” 

The Road highlights the real and hard life of a touring artist

The show reunites judge Blake Shelton and Lee Metzger after The Voice.

Metzer asserts that The Road would be unlike any other show on television today.

Blake Shelton and Lee, along with executive producer Taylor Sheridan, who is credited with the drama series Yellowstone, came together to give an insight into the life of a touring artist.

The show does not want to create celebrities that come and go, but rather musicians and their careers.

Blake, Metzger and Sheridan picked 12 artists who are pursuing music and working in bars across the United States.

These emerging artists would have the opportunity to perform as an opening act for singer Keith Urban on his tour across the South, introducing the audience to new and fresh sounds.

Metzger shared that people don’t buy tickets to hear someone perform someone else’s songs. He wanted to recreate the real music business.

He said, as reported by The Wrap:

“Nobody buys a ticket to go and see somebody sing other people’s songs. We wanted to get close as we could to emulate the real music business and what it really takes to make it, especially now when record sales are how you make your money. Artists now bring money by touring.” 

Blake and Lee were not very interested in artists who could be made famous by a viral video.

Some of the participants who are competing in the show are musicians with experience under their belts.

A requirement was imposed on the participants on The Road: to prepare a batch of original songs.

In the first episode, every artist performed their original song for the audience, who were waiting for country singer, Keith Urban.

In every upcoming episode, the contestants will each perform an original song and a cover for the live audience.

Lee also emphasized that they sought individuals who had been involved in this field for a considerable period. He shared:

“We wanted to find people who’ve been doing this for years, who’ve played honky tonks and clubs and toured. This is not a fluke. It’s a life decision for them.”

In each episode, the audience will witness the real-time reactions of the crowd, as well as those of Shelton and Urban.

The audience then votes on the artist who voted for them, and Keith and Blake would then decide, share their feedback, and send a contestant home.

This allows musicians to experience the real stage, setting them up for future success.

The winner will take home $250,000, a recording contract and a chance to perform at the Stagecoach Country Music Festival next April.

 Stay tuned for more such updates.