You can’t pin Post Malone down to one genre. Earlier this year, he joined pop superstar Taylor Swift on “Fortnight,” the lead single from her record-breaking album The Tortured Poets Department. Known mainly for his catchy trap-hop hooks, the 28-year-old New Yorker has long hinted at a desire to wade into the waters of country music. Recently, however, the “White Iverson” rapper dove in headfirst with “Pickup Man” for HARDY’s Joe Diffie tribute. Additionally, his April Stagecoach set was a tribute to ’90s country. The hitmaker covered George Strait’s “Check Yes or No” and Tim McGraw’s “Don’t Take the Girl,” among others. On Thursday (May 16), Post Malone made his genre jump official with a performance at the Academy of Country Music Awards.
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‘He’s Coming Home’
Post Malone took the stage at the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas in a Dallas Cowboys jersey. “Post Malone doing by far the most country sounding song at the #acms as I type this,” one X/Twitter user wrote. “The Nashville machine is a weird one i tell ya.”
Malone continued with “I Had Some Help,” his breakout track with country hitmaker Morgan Wallen. Afterwards, even he looked stunned when host Reba McEntire suggested they honor the Allman Brothers’ Dickey Betts, who died in April at age 80.
“Yes ma’am, ” the “Circles” rapper said. Then the duo launched into an acapella version of “Ramblin’ Man.”
Two of the ACM’s executive producers, Raj Kapoor and Patrick Menton, spoke with Variety prior to the ceremony about Post’s performance. “The authenticity and the love that Post has for the genre is really unique,” Kapoor said.
“He’s coming home,” Menton added. “He was raised on this music.”
Post Malone Makes History With Morgan Wallen Collab
“I Had Some Help” commemorates the end of a toxic relationship. The narrator reminds his ex that he isn’t solely to blame for their romance crumbling. He “had some help.”
The pair debuted the track during Wallen’s headlining set at Stagecoach last month.
The track debuted at No. 18 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart. “I Had Some Help” also shattered Spotify’s single-day country streaming record with nearly 14 million streams.
Post Malone is making it very clear that this is not a pit stop for his career. It’s a brand-new journey.
Featured image by Amy Sussman/Getty Images for Stagecoach
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