FILE - This June 7, 2016 file photo shows Blake Shelton performing at the 12th Annual Stars for Second Harvest Benefit at Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tenn. Shelton was named as People magazine's 2017 "Sexiest Man Alive."
NEW YORK (AP) — People magazine named Blake Shelton its Sexiest Man Alive for 2017 on Tuesday, but it took some convincing by his girlfriend Gwen Stefani to get her guy on board.
The country music superstar and coach on NBC's "The Voice" hates being the center of attention, the magazine said.
"She goes, 'Listen to me,'" recalled the 6-foot-5, Oklahoma-bred Shelton. "'You're going to regret this for the rest of your life if you don't take this gift and just live in the moment.' I've been ugly my whole life. If I can be sexy for a year, I'm taking it!'"
Bonus for the outspoken Shelton: He can hold the accolade over the head of Adam Levine, his fellow coach on the singing competition and 2013's Sexiest Man Alive. Only Shelton used some colorful language to describe that experience between his pal and banter partner on air.
Shelton said he was, in fact, proud and honored to have been picked, adding: "I'm not going to treat this like Hugh Jackman or one of those guys who's humble about it. People are going to hate me over this. Because it's going to be used in every conversation, whether it's at 'The Voice' or at the feed store in Tishomingo, Oklahoma, or in a conversation with a doctor. Until I have to hand the title, which is what it is to me, over to someone else, this is mine. This is like a certification."
Shelton's latest album, "Texoma Shore," hit No. 1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums this week.
The magazine's Sexiest Man Alive special double issue hits newsstands Friday.
Here's a look at the "Sexiest Man Alive" from previous years:
