Blake Shelton’s Backstage Calamari Disaster: Country Star Eats Squid Minutes Before Live ‘Today Show’ Performance—Sudden Regret as He Admits, “It’s Starting to Stink!”

“I’m not sure how fresh it was when y’all brought it to me,” Shelton said before performing songs from his new album, ‘For Recreational Use Only’

Blake Shelton.Credit :

Carson Daly sent Blake Shelton an unexpected treat for his Today appearance this week.

The Today host recorded a special message for Shelton, who filled in during his PopStart segment on Tuesday, May 13, while Daly was busy filming The Voice on the West Coast.

After congratulating Shelton on his new album, For Recreational Use Only, and his performance on the Today plaza, Daly went on to reveal an unusual request from the musician.

“There’s something that I’d like to share about you that people don’t know,” Daly said. “Much in the same way that Van Halen famously wanted to have M&Ms backstage, you too have a bit of a demand, and I want you to feel right at home today.”

Jenna Bush Hager, Dylan Dreyer, Savannah Guthrie, Craig Melvin and Blake Shelton.NBC

He then asked the crew to bring out an item that he hoped would make Shelton “very happy”: fried calamari.

“This is, like doughnut calamari,” Shelton said, remarking on its large size, as he sat on the couch with hosts Jenna Bush Hager, Dylan Dreyer, Savannah Guthrie and Craig Melvin.

“Do you mind calamari at 8:30 in the morning?” Dreyer asked.

“Why are they all so round? It’s suspicious,” Guthrie observed.

Savannah Guthrie holds the bowl of calamari on the ‘Today’ plaza.NBC

When Shelton later took the stage to perform his new songs “Stay Country or Die Tryin’” and “Texas,” the calamari made another appearance.

“We’re back with Blake Shelton and he kept his baby with him,” Melvin joked.

“It’s starting to stink,” Shelton noted, while Bush Hager agreed, “Yeah, it is.”

“I’m not sure how fresh it was when y’all brought it to me,” Shelton said.

“We’re hoping not to give you food poisoning,” Bush Hager assured him.

“We thought if you just fried it, all would be forgiven,” Guthrie admitted.

“If I cannot get sick for the next 20 minutes, that would be great,” Shelton told the hosts. “Then we don’t care.”

In an interview with PEOPLE earlier this month, Shelton said the success of “Pour Me a Drink,” his collaboration with Post Malone, “lit a fire under” him to head back into the studio and record For Recreational Use Only.

The album’s lead single, “Texas,” marked the singer’s 30th No. 1 hit.

“I’ve always been a nerd for country music stats. Early on I thought it was important to know these things about my heroes,” he said, referring to George Strait’s 60 No. 1’s. “Now to have my own chapter where I can go, ‘Man, this is my catalog and my legacy.’ . . . It really is exciting.”