Post Malone grew up believing Blake Shelton's song 'Austin' was written about him.
The 'Circles' hitmaker, 29, and the country music star, 48, joined forces on the track 'Pour Me A Drink' from the former's eagerly awaited country album, 'F-1 Trillion', and Post, whose real name is Austin Richard Post, told Blake his mom told him the 2001 song was all about him.
He told American Songwriter: "Post’s real name is Austin, and he told me that when he was a kid, his mom told him that that song was written about him.
“That’s what he told me, and he said he believed it. His mom was, I guess, the country music fan in the family, and his dad was the rock guy. So, I guess that’s how Post Malone was created.”
Blake - who is married to No Doubt star Gwen Stefani - still hasn't asked Post why he chose him for the collaboration.
He said: “He’s just so excited about music.
“I mean, literally, we spent an hour one night him just with his iPod playing me music that he is fired up about. I still, to this day, have never asked him, ‘Hey, why me? Why did you call me for this?’”
On not asking why he selected him for the tune, he explained: “I didn’t because at the end of the day, I just, for whatever reason, he asked me to do it - I’m proud.
“I’m proud of that record. I’m proud to have worked with him. I think he’s an incredibly talented guy. Now that I’ve spent some time with him, it’s no mystery to me that he’s as huge as he is as an artist and successful as he is because he’s just somebody that you just love being around. He’s just so much fun.”
Blake says Post grew up on country music and believes he's probably been wanting to make a record like 'F-1 Trillion' for a while.
He said: “This guy grew up in Texas.
“I think just naturally he grew up hearing all this stuff, and so he’s just super excited about country music. I think he probably feels like a new artist again.”
Blake concluded: “Now he’s doing it, and you can tell he’s been holding it in for a while, and he’s super fired up about it."
The follow-up to 2023's 'Austin' also features the previously released singles 'I Had Some Help', featuring Morgan Wallen, 31, and 'Guy For That' with Luke Combs, 34.
