Post Malone thought Blake Shelton wrote ‘Austin’ about him as a child
Post Malone grew up believing that Blake Shelton’s track ‘Austin’ was written about him, according to the country singer.
The two artists recently teamed up for the single ‘Pour Me A Drink’, which will appear on Posty’s upcoming country album ‘F-1 Trillion’ (out August 16).
During a new interview with American Songwriter, Shelton explained: “Post’s real name is Austin, and he told me that when he was a kid, his mom told him that that [2001] 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.”
Shelton went on to say that his new collaborator is “just so excited about music”, but revealed that he still hadn’t asked Posty why he wanted to work with him.
“I mean, literally, we spent an hour one night him just with his iPod playing me music that he is fired up about,” he continued. “I still, to this day, have never asked him, ‘Hey, why me? Why did you call me for this?'”
Shelton added: “I didn’t because at the end of the day, I just, for whatever reason, he asked me to do it – I’m proud. 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 that you just love being around. He’s just so much fun.”
Shelton said Posty had likely been wanting to pivot to the country genre for some time: “This guy grew up in Texas. I think just naturally he grew up hearing all this stuff, and so 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.”
A tracklist for ‘F-1 Trillion’ has not yet been shared. However, the album is believed to be country-leaning, with Posty having released a string of country singles and collaborations with country singers in recent months. Pre-order/pre-save the record here.
In April, he performed a Hank Williams cover during a surprise gig in Nashville. Later that month, he played an entire set of classic country cover songs at the 2024 Stagecoach Festival.
He later shared his first single since 2023’s ‘Austin’, ‘I Had Some Help’ featuring Morgan Wallen. Posty then debuted a new song called ‘Never Love You Again’ while performing at the Country Music Awards.
The artist released ‘Pour Me A Drink’ with Blake Shelton on June 21, before dropping ‘Guy For That’ (feat. Luke Combs) last Friday (July 26).
Post Malone is due to embark on his 2024 ‘F-1 Trillion’ North American tour in September.
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Tom Skinner
NME
