Single Review: Blake Shelton, “Who Are You When I’m Not Looking”

I’m not going to argue with quiet, since so much of country radio these days is way too loud.

So yes, “Who Are You When I’m Not Looking” is laid back, almost too laid back. It certainly would be a snoozer with a lesser vocalist. But Blake Shelton demonstrates why he’s finally in the Male Vocalist race with the nuances that he brings to a song that could’ve been too dull or too leery in the wrong hands.

I like the creativity of some of the questions here, most especially when he wonders if she paints her toes because she bites her nails. I had to think about that one for a few seconds, but it made me crack a smile.

There was a beautiful album cut by Chely Wright called “Unknown” a decade ago, where she wonders if anyone will ever discover her little idiosyncrasies.  This feels like an answer song to that, and a darn good one to boot.  I would’ve liked another verse or two, but what’s here is solid.

Written by Earl Bud Lee and John Wiggins

Grade: B+

Listen: Who Are You When I’m Not Looking

6 Comments

  1. It’s a beautiful-sounding track. Some of these lines just push the cutesiness too far for me given the song’s reverential tone – the sliding down the hallway in socks, the box of chocolates, the toenails thing.

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