Post Malone Said His Dream Was To Collab With George Strait & Toby Keith… Way Back In 2015

Post Malone has certainly ingratiated himself with the country music community, but the truth is, it’s all coming from a good place, a sincere place. The man loves country music. And it goes back further than you might think.

The Dallas, Texas, native actually got his start in music playing country and southern rock covers at a little neighborhood Italian spot, Napoli’s Italian Restaurant, in Grapevine.

And over the years, his love for country music has been well-documented. We’ve seen him jam out with Dwight Yoakam and Billy Strings, and play some Hank Williams and Johnny Cash covers. He loves Shania Twain and he even rocked a Dolly Parton suit at Bonnaroo… I mean, the guy probably knows more about classic country than half the artists in the mainstream right now. And of course, we all remember his cover of Sturgill Simpson ‘s “You Can Have The Crown.”

He teamed up with some of Nashville’s greatest for his country music debut F-1 Trillion, such as Morgan Wallen, Hank Williams Jr., Luke Combs, and more. And while I found the record enjoyable, it was certainly a more mainstream country record with a lot of pop stylings. I found the deluxe edition, F-1 Trillion: Longbed, which mostly features solo performances from Post, to be WAY better. But it was cool to see Post dip his toes in the water, and by all accounts, he’s staying.

Guitar player extraordinaire and producer Derek Wells says this next project will feature Post Malone stepping WAY over the line between pop music and country music… deep into the heart of traditional country where he’s channeling some George Jones and ’80s George Strait.

Wells says:

“There’s also more fiddle, pedal steel, guitar solos. Where we started as two feet over the line into traditional country on ‘F-1 Trillion’ has turned into head, chest, shoulders and feet across the line on where we’re headed with the next batch of songs.”

But as I mentioned above, Post Malone’s country music roots run deep, and here’s the proof.

In an interview from back 2015 with Hot 97, over a decade ago, Post mentioned that he would love to collaborate with George Strait, and he also mentioned Toby Keith (RIP) as another country star he’d like to work with:

“I wanna work with George Strait, Toby Keith… there’s too many people.”

And he dove a little deeper on wanting to play country music in that same interview:

“I put myself on country whenever I started playing guitar, my dad put me on rock and hip-hip and crazy metal stuff. [Country] is where it’s at. I’m gonna get a rhinestone suit and a guitar strap with my name on it.”

His song “Deja Vu” even offers a subtle nod to George with the line:

“Girl this a confession, I’m not like your exes, I came in from Texas…”

Check out the full interview:

And he isn’t lying… earlier this year he said King George was his most-played artists of 2024, along with rising star, Zach Top:

“They were George Strait and that beautiful, dimpled mustachioed man right there. Make some noise for Zach (Top) one more time, ladies and gentlemen.” 

So however this sophomore Post Malone country album turns out, whether it leans still pretty pop, or falls into a more traditional country music space, I think it’s coming from a place where there is a sincere appreciation for art form. And I’m here for it.

Before you go, check out “Killed A Man,” one of the standout tracks from his country music debut:

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