Shelton

Blake Shelton admitted to the crowd at his concert at the York Fair on Wednesday night that he first got into music because he wanted to meet girls.

His confession was met with laughter, but Shelton married fellow country music singer Miranda Lambert in 2011 so it would appear that he did what he set out to accomplish.

The two were named Male and Female Vocalist of the Year, respectively, in 2010 and to boot, this year he is up for five Country Music Award nominations.

Shelton opened Wednesday's show with "All About Tonight," "She Wouldn't Be Gone," and "Some Beach."

"He's very interactive," said Amanda Yost. "He sings his old songs, and he does a variety."

Yost, 21, of Hagerstown, Md., saw Shelton in Hershey in May and was at Tuesday's concert with her mom, Tina Yost.

"He has a great voice and he seems friendly, and that definitely gets you places," said Yost as she stood in line for an autograph from the opening act for the evening, Sunny Sweeney.

The blond-haired singer from Texas kicked off the evening with songs "Drink Myself" and "East Texas Pines," before performing her first chart single, "From A Table Away."

"She was adorable," said Emily Worden, 21, of Adams County.

Shelton is also known for his role as a judge on "The Voice," a televised singing competition.

"We watch 'The Voice,'" said Joan Stremmel, 59, of Gettysburg. "He's got a great personality, and I think he's really honest."

She and her husband, Ken, come to a country music concert at the fair every year.

Shelton had long hair and still wasn't married when Kim Shortlidge, 45, of Lancaster, saw him perform on the Great Country Radio Stage at the York Fair a few years ago.

Her twin sister, Kathy Shortlidge, said that "every song was good."

Wednesday, he performed older hits like "Austin" along with new favorites like "Honey Bee."

His rendition of George Strait's "All My Exes Live In Texas" came with a prefatory note about how he avoids spending time in Texas because he doesn't want his wife, who is a Texas native herself and known for her vengeful songs, to start shooting all of the women he dated there before meeting her.

After Shelton sang "Ol' Red" he pointed out a man in the audience who had been singing the song to his wife as if it were a romantic lullaby.

"I thought it was hilarious when he was talking to the couple in the crowd," said Josh Wolfe, 24, of Myersville, Md.

Shelton also performed his current single "Over" from his 2011 album, Red River Blue.

He ended his show with a cover of "Footloose" and "God Gave Me You," a song that is currently nominated for both Single of the Year and Song of the Year at the CMAs.

- Reach Chelsea Shank at 505-5432 or cshank@yorkdispatch.com