Admittedly, I was skeptical of this new
Post Malone country album, especially after hearing some of the pre-released singles, but I'm happy to report it's exceeding expectations. Post has always been a fan of country music, playing
country covers in an Italian restaurant for his first ever gig, rocking
Colter Wall t-shirts, covering Sturgill Simpson's
"You Can Have The Crown" with Dwight Yoakam's band, and even Tweeting back in 2015 that he'd go country when he turned 30. https://twitter.com/PostMalone/status/598344462226554880 Post turned 29 on July 4th this year, so he's a bit ahead of schedule, but last night
F-1 Trillion dropped and the features are truly remarkable. Modern mainstream stars like Luke Combs, Lainey Wilson, Morgan Wallen, Hardy, and Chris Stapleton, mixed in with independent fan-favorites like Sierra Ferrell and Billy Strings, alongside icons of the genre like Dolly Parton and Hank Williams Jr. At first glance you may think the project would be a bit all over the place but I can say with all honesty that it works and made me immediately think one thing. The Super Bowl Halftime show this year has to be Posty and a slew of country artists. https://twitter.com/andrew_mies/status/1824459560779710925?s=46&t=xwKs_UeeNEe2lBwcPP2CNw While country artists have been tapped for the National Anthem of late (who can forget
Chris Stapleton ,
Eric Church , and
Reba's performances the past few year?) it's been awhile since country has been featured for the halftime show. Shania Twain was the last country artist to headline the mid-game concert in 2003 and the most memorable has to be 1994 when Clint Black, Tanya Tucker, Travis Tritt, and The Judds rocked out the Georgia Dome, but with the popularity of our once niche genre, if there was a time to bring some twang to the big game, it's now. Obviously, Post Malone would probably get the headlining slot but this album proves he's more than willing to share the spotlight. I can see him bringing out anyone who's featured on this album (I'd love for Sierra Ferrell to get a moment in front of 100 million people) and maybe even digging a bit further and letting Colter Wall, Sturgill, or Tyler Childers get a moment. Zach Bryan is another obvious name that comes to mind but why stop there? Bring in Cody Jinks, The Red Clay Strays, Kaitlin Butts, Turnpike, Koe Wetzel, Morgan Wade, or Ashley McBryde. Or how about some living legends? Reba, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, George Strait, Alan Jackson, and Emmylou Harris anyone? Of course, in the event that Post were to actually get the Super Bowl halftime show nod, it would mostly likely feature the biggest stars of the mainstream genre.... Luke Combs, Jelly Roll, Chris Stapleton, Lainey Wilson, etc... but the NFL and Apple Music (who sponsor the show) have been extremely hesitant to give country music a chance... could Post bridge the gap? I think he could. Some folks will say "what about Beyoncé, she released a country album too?" And to that I would say, no she didn't...
she explicitly said she didn't release a country album. And she performed in 2013... probably a little too soon to bring her back. In a perfect world we wouldn't need a huge popstar to put country music in this position, and truthfully the genre was already big enough for another Super Bowl performance given the success of Luke Combs, Morgan Wallen, and Zach Bryan, but this album perfectly tee's us up to have another big moment. NFL, I'm looking at you... don't screw this up. Give the people what they want and let's get some boots stomping in New Orleans this season. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNfsOx7yV9s
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