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Blake Shelton Sings Moving Tribute of Alabama's "Old Flame" for Its Founding Members

The former Voice Coach performed the hit for the special CMT Giants: Alabama.

By Elizabeth Logan

The 1980s called, and they wanted to remind you how good a song "Old Flame" by Alabama is.

How to Watch

Watch the Season 26 premiere of The Voice on Monday, September 23 at 8/7c on NBC and next day on Peacock. 

Former The Voice Coach Blake Shelton lent his voice (and his guitar) to a rendition of the classic for a Country Music Television event, accompanied by Steve Wariner and Kara Britz, and their three-part harmony is just lovely.

RELATED: The Nominees for the 2024 People's Choice Country Awards Have Been Revealed

Blake Shelton covers "Old Flame" by Alabama

With two of the founding members of the band in the audience — Randy Owen and Teddy Gentry — the three musicians gave it their all, and there's a reason Shelton and Britz are so comfortable together: Britz is a member of the "house band" at The Voice. She and Shelton have sung together before, including when Britz stepped in for Gwen Stefani on their duet "Happy Anywhere."

Much like the titular old flame, the song brought back memories for those who've loved it for years. On Instagram, one commenter reflected, "Wish I was there....I was having babies to these songs 🎵 in the 80s . What awesome tapes and cds they were. Brings back so many memories...WoW !!! A lot of good memories. Great job for everyone singing their songs. You made them very 👏👏👏👏." Another added, "Awesome trio, awesome show. Brought back so many memories from when they first went big. WOW, I loved these guys then and now!!"

Watch the performance here.

A split of Blake Shelton and the band Alabama

What to know about "Old Flame" by Alabama

Written by Donny Lowery and Mac McAnally and released on the 1981 album Feels So Right, the song is about the singer seeing the woman he loves looking at her past lover. Though she's told him the relationship is over, he can tell that she still has feelings for her ex because of the "old flame burning" in her eyes. It spent a week at number one on the Hot Country Songs charts, per Billboard.

Blake Shelton honors the greats

The "Pour Me A Drink" singer is always ready to pay tribute to the stars who came before him, and previously participated in a live concert honoring Elvis Presley, performing a rousing rendition of "Suspicious Minds." And his version of Hank Williams Jr.'s classic "A Country Boy Can Survive" is as passionate as the original. You can check him out soon in residency in Las Vegas, where we expect a few more excellent live covers will be played.