Blake Shelton Releases ‘Minimum Wage’ Music Video Directed By Gwen’s Brother

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Blake Shelton brings live performances back for his “Minimum Wage” music video.

Shelton is no stranger to mixing business with pleasure. (Just ask Gwen Stefani.) Still, fans will be pleasantly surprised to learn that the country crooner enlisted his fiancée’s youngest brother, Todd Stefani, to direct the shoot. The set for “Minimum Wage” feels like walking into an intimate concert hall, which is exactly what Shelton wanted for the music video.

 

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In an interview with CMT, Shelton opened up about the process of filming a music video during a pandemic. He admitted that it took a lot of “camera magic” to make fans feel like the country star was singing to a large crowd. 

“What I remember most is we had a lot of Covid protocol in place!” Shelton recalled in the interview. “I really felt like the video needed to be a live performance, so we had a few fans at Ole Red in Tishomingo. Of course everyone had to be pre-tested and re-tested and temperature checks and social distancing. And every time the camera stopped rolling, someone would yell, ‘Masks up!’ There’s a lot of camera magic happening too because it looks like the place was packed.”

 

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Shelton received some criticism upon “Minimum Wage’s” release. Several fans stated their belief that Shelton’s high earnings made the song feel disingenuous. Since then, Shelton has reminded listeners that he, like many other artists, struggled financially before finally making it in the music industry. He also explained that “Minimum Wage” is a song that is meant to be “fun” and not taken so seriously.

“[Minimum Wage has] such great tempo, and I can’t wait to be able to get back out on the road and play it for fans,” Shelton told CMT. “So I felt really strongly that the music video needed to be a live performance with the crowd having fun! What I hope people take away from the video is that live show feel. That sense of fun and community we have out there on the road. I’m ready to play shows, I’m ready to go see shows, and I know music fans everywhere are, too.”

Watch the full music video below.