Country Collaborators Praise Working with Post Malone: ‘He’s the Real Deal’

As Post Malone prepares to release his country album F-1 Trillion on Friday, fellow country artists who have collaborated with him are enthusiastically praising the artist.

“He’s the real deal,” says Keith Urban, who duetted with Post Malone on Elvis Presley’s 1959 hit “Baby, What You Want Me to Do” during a 2019 NBC special, marking one of Malone’s first ventures into country music. This sentiment is shared by other country stars who have worked with him.

The new album, produced by Charlie Handsome and Louis Bell, includes duets with several renowned country stars such as Dolly Parton, Tim McGraw, Luke Combs, Lainey Wilson, Chris Stapleton, Brad Paisley, Jelly Roll, and Morgan Wallen. Wallen’s collaboration with Malone, “I Had Some Help,” has topped both the Billboard Hot 100 and Country Airplay charts. Another single, “Pour Me a Drink” featuring Blake Shelton, is climbing the Country Airplay chart, currently at No. 14, while Malone’s duet with Combs, “Guy For That,” sits at No. 36.

HARDY, who worked with Malone on “Hide My Gun” and performed a Joe Diffie tribute with him and Wallen at last year’s CMA Awards, remarked that Malone approached making a country album “the right way.” HARDY appreciated that Malone spent extensive time in Nashville, immersing himself in the songwriting world to create an “amazing” record.

Malone, explaining his collaborative approach to the New York Times, said, “I just want to hang out, have a beer, listen to your ideas. I feel like there’s a lot of people set in their ways. I just want to make the song work in the best way for the song.”

However, some of his collaborators found it challenging to keep up with his late-night working hours. Wallen admitted in a December interview that Malone’s studio hours were difficult for him, as Malone preferred working really late at night. “[He] likes to write really, really late at night — and I can’t do that three nights in a row. I can do that one night,” Wallen shared with a laugh.

Over the past several months, Malone and his collaborators have shared photos from their writing sessions and snippets of new songs. The Dallas native has also performed at various country-specific events, including Stagecoach, a Bud Light-sponsored event in Nashville, and San Francisco’s Outside Lands festival. On Wednesday, August 14, Malone makes his Grand Ole Opry debut, and he will embark on a 21-date tour for F-1 Trillion starting September 8 in Salt Lake City.

During his set at Outside Lands on Sunday, August 11, Malone delivered an endearing, though slightly chaotic, cover of Brooks & Dunn’s 1991 classic “Brand New Man,” where he forgot some of the lyrics. Despite this, the original duo, who are fans of Malone, approved of the performance.

Ronnie Dunn of Brooks & Dunn recounted his conversation with Malone: “We were going back and forth about it [Monday night]. He goes, ‘I’m so sorry.’ I said, ‘You’ve killed it man.’ And he said, ‘I started reading some guy’s poster and got off on the track and eight Bud Lights didn’t help.’ He’s as cool as they come.”

Dunn echoed what many in the country music community have observed: Malone is like a country music jukebox. “You see him step out on stage with his guitar and sing every song verbatim. I’d need cue cards all over the floor, but he knows these country songs. He’s like a savant. He’s sincerely a country music fan.”

Besides his Grand Ole Opry debut, Wednesday also marked Malone receiving four nominations for the People’s Choice Country Awards, including Song of the Year for “I Had Some Help.”

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