Blake Shelton says we’re not here if not for Post Malone. The singer’s “Pour Me a Drink” partner gave him the kick in the shorts he needed to get serious about making country music again.
The result is a 180 from his stance from several years ago, when he loudly wondered if he’d ever cut another album.
“It was just so different for me and kind of a departure from anything I’ve done,” Shelton says about “Texas,” a song that producer Scott Hendricks sent him earlier in the year.
The success of “Pour Me a Drink” isn’t what kickstarted Shelton’s next record, although it certainly didn’t hurt. Simply being around Post Malone is what did it. The country veteran and former coach on The Voice described his new friend as one of the happiest, most fired up people he’s ever known.
“Every single second of the day is a party for Post Malone,” he shares.
“That really got me fired up again, honestly, about wanting to make a record and stick my neck back out there again … It was the kick and the a– that I needed to, to remind myself that I don’t want to let this get away from me, you know, by waiting too long or taking time off or whatever.”
Recording “Texas” — and everything else he’s cut so for a new record TBA — has been a ton of fun. In fact, Shelton says that had the label not told him to wrap it up he’d still be playing with it all.
“That’s why you hear — like there’s a hawk screaming on that record in the intro. You can hear the Good the Bad and the Ugly whistle on the track,” a joyful Blake Shelton says. “You know we messed with all kinds of things on that song because it was just so fun.”
Blake Shelton Post Malone at CMA Fest
John Shearer, Getty Images for CMA
The obvious question is, if Blake Shelton and Post Malone are one and done. He says he hopes not, but concedes there’s not a second collaboration in the works at the moment.
“I’m not going anywhere anytime soon,” he tells Evan Paul. “And I absolutely hope that’s not … the one and only Post Malone collaboration I get to have because, man, the guy truly is inspiring to be around. He’s just a good dude and he’s having a blast and it’s infectious.”
New country artists rule this Top Country Songs of 2024 list, but that doesn’t mean traditional country isn’t represented early and often.
Airplay charts, sales data and streaming numbers helped make this list of country music’s Top 20 Songs of 2024, but staff and Taste of Country reader opinion were most influential.
Songs included on previous Top Country Songs lists were not eligible. A song may have been released in 2023, but it had to have the majority of recorded airplay or impact this year to count.
Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes
One-hit wonder or not, every artist has more to offer than just one song. Scroll through the list below to see 15 of the greatest country one-hit wonders, plus another song that should’ve gotten more love on the charts.
Gallery Credit: Carena Liptak