Blake Shelton nervous about 'honest' duet performance with Gwen Stefani

Blake Shelton is feeling anxious about performing his new duet with Gwen Stefani because the lyrics are highly personal.

The 39-year-old country singer released Go Ahead and Break My Heart on 9 May (16), and he is anxious about what fans will take from the track when he performs it with Gwen on Monday night's episode of The Voice - the U.S. talent show where he and the No Doubt star met and fell in love late last year (15).

"We're a little bit nervous about it, but nervous in a way that we can't wait and nervous in a way that we hope people think it's as good as we think it is," Blake explained to People magazine. "It's like people getting a look at something personal for the first time."

When they first began dating, both stars had recently split from their spouses - Blake finalised his divorce from Miranda Lambert in July (15) and Gwen ended her 13-year marriage to rocker and actor Gavin Rossdale in October (15).

After sparking their romance, Blake and Gwen decided to address their heartbreak in the lyrics for his new song, and he admits the tune also addresses the conflict they faced with each other at the very beginning of their relationship.

"(Go Ahead and Break My Heart is) about some serious insecurities that we had when we first started down this road with each other," he detailed. "We both had trust issues. We were getting over it, but we wrote this song about it, and it's perfect."

Ultimately, Blake has faith audiences will receive the song well when he and Gwen grace the stage together on Monday evening, noting he is happy with "the honest way" the track came about.

"There's not a third ghost writer, there's not five writers on it," he shared. "She and I sat down and wrote this song... and I couldn't be happier about (it)."