Just before Christmas roughly six years ago, children swarmed to see “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” with its hit track “Sunflower.” The song was sung by rapper Swae Lee and Post Malone, when the singer and songwriter was arguably at the height of his fame.
“Sunflower,” which became the first ever double-diamond single in Recording Industry of America Association history, displayed an R&B beat similar to many of Post Malone’s other songs at the time, with lyrics echoing pop songs about past romances.
“Sunflower” is just one example of the many hip hop songs which helped Post Malone’s rise to pop fame.
Post Malone grew his fan base over the last 10 years largely as a pop musician, with many hip hop songs over the years as well. Since 2023, Post Malone has been dressing in stereotypical country singer and cowboy outfits, and finally, in May of 2024, Post Malone and an extremely popular country artist, Morgan Wallen, released their single, “I Had Some Help.”
But when did Post Malone’s inspiration to change to the country genre truly start?
Post Malone, although born in upstate New York, moved to Waxahachie, Texas in his youth, which he claims was one of the reasons behind his transition to country. And in May of 2015, Post Malone tweeted, “WHEN I TURN 30 IM BECOMING A COUNTRY/FOLK SINGER.”
The tweet, which came out before the height of his fame, shows his intention to break into the country genre almost a decade ago.
Many people have claimed that the transition to country was to seek monetary gain, suggesting that the only reason Post Malone transitioned to country was because country music became cool.
Although it may look like that on the surface, Post Malone’s move to the country genre was not for money.
The singer’s transition to country was purely for his love of the genre. Even when being a popular hip hop singer, Post Malone consistently posted covers of folk artist Bob Dylan and country singer Hank Williams.
In August of 2024, Post Malone released his first country album, “F-1 Trillion.”
The album displayed a very long 18 songs, totaling 57 minutes, and then the artist released a bonus track called “F-1 Trillion Long Bed,” adding an extra nine songs.
The problem that many pointed out, however, was that only three songs out of 18 total on the album included Post Malone singing. The rest of the 15 were clouded with features from popular country artists like Dolly Parton and Chris Stapleton.
Post Malone’s album showed disingenuous attempts at beginning his new country persona; it didn’t seem like Post Malone was a true country singer from his sole album. Therefore, many were turned off by how little we saw of the actual “country singer” Post Malone.
So many country fans and music fans in general are puzzled by one question: is Post Malone really country?
Post Malone’s behavior — although eccentric — has shown us that he has a genuine passion for country music. From his covers of “There’s A Tear In My Beer,” social media posts of years past, to his new album, he truly cares for the genre.
This alone doesn’t make Post Malone country, however.
Post Malone is a singer with lots of variety in the music he sings. Releasing a single country album does not make him a country singer. He may wear the costume, but his music doesn’t sound the part.
His new album feels like a forced entry into the genre instead of a true representation of the soul and heartbreak of country.
Ultimately, Post Malone has had a lot of success in his career, and the pushback he’s gotten for transitioning to country is understandable. Although his past shows his love for the genre, this sole country album doesn’t show that he is an actual country singer.
