Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton debuted their new cover of “Love Is Alive” by The Judds on Friday, Aug. 18. The couple dropped the new track seemingly out of the blue as the lead single from the upcoming A Tribute To The Judds album. Gwen, 53, handled lead vocals on the country classic, but Blake, 47, came in to offer many harmonies throughout their faithful take on The Judds’ song.
With the original song released in 1985, Gwen and Blake offered a mostly straightforward cover of The Judds’ song, albeit with a slightly glossier production style. The new vocals from the married couple also really make the harmonies even more distinct than in the original, where Wynonna Judd and her mother Naomi shared the vocal duties. There were also a few new instrumental flourishes brought to the forefront of the mix, giving the song a bit more of a modern pop-country feel.
To announce their cover, Gwen shared a short video from the studio, where she opened up about how special this song was to her. “Blake and I are doing it together, so it’s pretty exciting. It’s the first time Blake’s ever going to sing harmony on a lead that I’m doing,” she said. “It’s just been like beyond a dream come true to be able to do it. Whenever you do a cover, you always feel like there’s no way to compete with the original. I mean, there is absolutely no way. It’s such an honor.”
Blake also spoke about how important The Judds’ music was to him in an Instagram caption announcing the song. “[The Judds] are one of the greatest country acts of our lifetime and 80’s country music is my favorite decade,” he wrote. “I’ve been singing these songs for as long as I can remember.”
A Tribute To The Judds will be released on October 27. The album will feature covers of so many of The Judds’ classic songs by both new and established country artists, including Reba McEntire, LeAnn Rimes, Jelly Roll, and Ashley McBryde. The tribute album is coming over a year after Naomi died at 76 in April 2022.