It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Post Malone’s connection with country music goes back long before his venture into the genre this year. Growing up in Texas, Post listened to everyone from Dwight Yoakam to Johnny Cash to one of the featured artists on his upcoming album, F 1-Trillion, Blake Shelton.
In a recent interview with American Songwriter, Shelton opened up about his relationship with the “I Had Some Help” singer, noting his deep roots within the genre and sharing a funny story about Post’s connection with his 2001 hit, “Austin.”
For those who don’t know, Post’s real name is Austin Richard Post, and it seems that he grew up thinking that Shelton’s hit was written about him. Shelton told American Songwriter, “Post’s real name is Austin, and he told me that when he was a kid, his mom told him that that song was written about him. That’s what he told me, and he said he believed it. His mom was, I guess, the country music fan in the family and his dad was the rock guy. So, I guess that’s how Post Malone was created.“
Later in the interview, Shelton shared that he thinks Post has always been a country musician at heart; however, due to the success of his 2015 single, “White Iverson,” he had to go in a different musical direction to start his career, “This guy grew up in Texas. I think just naturally he grew up hearing all this stuff, and he’s just super excited about country music. I think he probably feels like a new artist again. Now he’s doing it, and you can tell he’s been holding it in for a while, and he’s super fired up about it.”
The “Ol’ Red” singer also shared how proud he was to be on the album and how infectious Post’s personality is, “I’m proud of that record. I’m proud to have worked with him. I think he’s an incredibly talented guy. Now that I’ve spent some time with him, it’s no mystery to me that he’s as huge as he is as an artist and successful as he is because he’s just somebody you just love being around. He’s just so much fun.”
Post’s debut country album, F 1-Trillion, comes out in just 15 days on August 16 and features the likes of Shelton himself, Morgan Wallen, Hank Williams Jr., Dolly Parton, Tim McGraw and many more. The entire tracklist includes the following:
- “Wrong Ones” Feat. Tim McGraw
- “Finer Things” Feat. Hank Williams, Jr.
- “I Had Some Help” Feat. Morgan Wallen
- Pour Me A Drink Feat. Blake Shelton
- “Have the Heart” Feat. Dolly Parton
- “What Don’t Belong to Me”
- “Goes Without Saying” Feat. Brad Paisley
- “Guy for That” Feat. Luke Combs
- “Nosedive” Feat. Lainey Wilson
- “Losers” Feat. Jelly Roll
- “Devil I’ve Been” Feat. ERNEST
- “Never Love You Again” Feat. Sierra Ferrell
- “Missin’ You Like This” Feat. Luke Combs
- “California Sober” Feat. Chris Stapleton
- “Hide My Gun” Feat. HARDY
- “Right About You”
- “M-e-x-i-c-o” Feat. Billy Strings
- “Yours”