Hear Blake Shelton's Uplifting 'Friends' from the 'Angry Birds' Movie

Blake Shelton's latest single "Came Here to Forget" describes the act of seeking a physical connection as a way to mitigate the pain of heartbreak, with the narrator icily distant from the object of his advances. On the other hand, "Friends" — Shelton's song for the forthcoming animated Angry Birds movie — illustrates the beginning of such a warm and familial connection that the contrast between the two is striking.

Built on a driving, up-tempo rhythm with banjo, fiddle and mouth harp (!), the tune lays out the character's woes: "There's a moment in this journey that I gave up/ My boots just couldn't walk another mile," sings Shelton. But upon encountering a like-minded soul who's seen some trouble, he's got the wind at his back. "Kickin' up dust wherever we go/ I can see that you and me are gonna be friends," he concludes.

Shelton actually voices a hillbilly pig in the upcoming film, which was based on the popular smartphone game. The all-star cast also includes Jason Sudeikis, Maya Rudolph, Bill Hader, Peter Dinklage, Kate McKinnon, Sean Penn and Hannibal Buress, among others. It is scheduled for wide release in May 2016.

Shelton's 12th studio album If I'm Honest — his first since his divorce from fellow star Miranda Lambert — includes "Came Here to Forget" and will be out May 20th. The release will be followed with a special exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum: opening May 27th, Blake Shelton: Based on a True Story will trace the star's journey from growing up in Oklahoma to becoming a superstar.