Posty goes ACMs: After months of teasing his crossover into country, Post Malone participated in one of the genre’s biggest nights as he performed his new single “I Had Some Help” as well as the track “Never Love You Again” at the Academy of Country Music Awards.

Malone, a Texas native, took the stage to sing the tender “Never Love You Again.” Next, the singer and his band launched into “I Had Some Help,” sans Morgan Wallen, who features on the studio version but is in the midst of a stadium tour that includes two gigs outside New York City this coming weekend. With no help for “I Had Some Help,” Malone still kept the energy high, further ensuring the song will be a top contender for Song of the Summer before the season even properly begins.

“I Had Some Help” — which is on its way to a Number One debut on the Hot 100 — serves as the first preview of Malone’s first-ever full-length country album, which will be out later this year. 

During his Stagecoach debut in April, Malone performed a set full of country covers with guests Brad Paisley, Sara Evans, and Dwight Yoakam, but none of his own country-inspired tunes. However, after a week spent teasing their collaborative single, Malone appeared onstage during Wallen’s headlining Stagecoach set to debut “I Had Some Help” live; the studio version and video arrived a week later.

The musician tested the waters of the genre with a few appearances alongside prominent country artists at events like the CMA Awards, as well as covers of country classics like Hank Williams’ “Honky Tonk Blues.” Malone also appeared on “Levii’s Jeans,” off Beyoncé’s new country-flipping album Cowboy Carter.