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Spotify is bringing its homegrown playlist to life as it launches the homegrown presents concert series with Dylan Gossett and Wyatt Flores.
Gossett kicks off the series with a Sept. 8 concert in his hometown of Austin, Texas, while Flores follows with an Oct. 7 show in Stillwater, Oklahoma. More concerts will take place in the coming months. Free tickets will be dispersed via email through Spotify’s Top Listeners program.
The homegrown playlist caters to the next generation of country listeners, featuring acoustic-oriented artists like Gossett, Flores, Zach Bryan, Ella Langley, Lainey Wilson and Noah Kahan. The artists share an authenticity, according to Spotify, but aren’t limited to traditional country genre lines.
“homegrown is all about authentic connections to music, celebrating your roots, and never forgetting where you came from,” says Claire Heinichen, Spotify’s editor of country music. “Tying these songs and artists to the places that made them felt like the perfect way to bring fans in to experience the playlist in real life. We’re so excited to celebrate the official launch of homegrown with Dylan & Wyatt and can’t wait for fans to see all we have in store!”
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“As an Austin native, it feels special to be able to bring my fans together in a place that’s had such a deep impact on my songwriting,” Gossett tells Billboard. “I’m thankful to Spotify homegrown for making it possible.”
Gossett is signed to Big Loud Texas, Miranda Lambert and Jon Randall’s Big Loud imprint, and Mercury Records. His breakthrough song “Coal” has been certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America.
Flores, who is signed to Island Records and made his Grand Ole Opry debut earlier this year, added, “Stillwater is where it all started for me. It’s the home of Red Dirt. To be releasing my debut album, Welcome to the Plains, about my search for home and who I am in the much larger world I’ve found myself in; I can’t think of a better time to go back to Stillwater. It means the world to me to have Spotify’s homegrown presents help me tell that story.”
Five-time Country Airplay No. 1 hitmaker Scotty McCreery was one song into his set at the Colorado State Fair at the Big R Arena in Pueblo, Colo., over the weekend when he had to stop his set to have an unruly attendee removed from the crowd. McCreery was performing “It Matters to Her” when he […]
Post Malone donned a cowboy hat and dominated the charts: on this week’s Billboard 200 (dated Aug. 31), new album F-1 Trillion blasts in at No. 1 with 250,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending Aug. 22, according to Luminate. F-1 Trillion marks Post Malone’s third career No. 1 album, but notably, the full-length is a full-on country project that sounds far removed from his last two chart-toppers.
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A slew of country greats helped Post Malone with the project — several of which score debuts alongside Posty on this week’s Hot 100, where 18 songs from F-1 Trillion bow, including every collaboration. “I Had Some Help” with Morgan Wallen remains at the head of the pack, though, logging another week at No. 2 on the Hot 100, after previously spending six nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1.
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What’s the secret behind Post Malone’s country switch-up? And what genre should he explore next? Billboard staffers discuss these questions and more below.
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1. F-1 Trillion debuts with 250,000 equivalent album units — more than twice as many as the debut total for last year’s Austin album (113,000), although a far cry from 2019’s Hollywood’s Bleeding (489,000). On a scale of 1-10, how are you feeling about this debut if you’re Post?
Jessica Nicholson: An 8. With this being his first official foray into the country genre (he’s posted covers of country songs online over the past several years), this is a great accomplishment, especially given that the solo tracks on his Long Bed extension of the album lean into elements of Texas swing, honky tonk and 2000s country, rather than only the rock and hip-hop-inflected country of his Morgan Wallen collab. Still, one would think the numbers would be a bit higher, given the slate of big-name collaborations proliferating the album.
Jason Lipshutz: A 9. Simply put, Post Malone got his groove back with F-1 Trillion, following a pair of albums that produced some solid hits but didn’t do enough to iterate on his earlier success. This country album was boosted by a big hit in “I Had Some Help,” but a debut of 250,000 equivalent album units indicates that Posty’s country change-up conjured interest beyond its lead single — fans wanted to explore this new side of his artistry, and he scored one of the biggest debuts of 2024. Maybe he never returns to the commercial peak of his Hollywood’s Bleeding numbers, but the performance of F-1 Trillion suggests that Post Malone’s time in the spotlight will persist well past that peak.
Katie Atkinson: 10. He went outside his typical lane, assembled The Avengers of country music, and came in to release week with a six-week Hot 100 No. 1 lead single. Honestly, what’s not to be happy about? This country pivot has been received with open arms by the music-buying public, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Post’s country era extends beyond one album.
Lyndsey Havens: You could say I’d be feeling… 1 trillion out of 10. Metrics aside, this is an artistic project that Texas native Post Malone has wanted to make for most of his career. And yes, while he collaborated with superstars and legends alike on Hollywood’s Bleeding, helping the pop-rock-rap album score such an impressive first-week debut, you could argue the features on F-1 mean a bit more. To have almost every heavy hitter across country music – including the queen herself, Dolly Parton – was surely the best stamp of approval Post could desire. Even more so than his first foray into the genre debuting at No. 1, Post made an album that the country community not only rallied behind wanted to be a part of. And that is well worth celebrating.
Melinda Newman: An 8. A No. 1 album is a No. 1 album, no matter what the sales/streaming numbers are. And after missing the mark with both Austin and 2022’s Twelve Carat Toothache, Post has to be happy to reach the summit again, even if, to paraphrase a popular song, he had some help. At the same time, there has to be a nagging twinge of doubt questioning if he can hit No. 1 as a solo artist, though the popularity of F-1 Trillion will undoubtedly propel his solo numbers. Plus, all the tracks charted on the Hot 100, thanks to streaming. He’s got to be thrilled by that.
2. With F-1 Trillion becoming Post Malone’s first No. 1 album since 2019 and “I Had Some Help” with Morgan Wallen leading the Hot 100 for six total weeks, are you surprised that his country pivot has been as successful as its chart rankings indicate?
Jessica Nicholson: No. He has made a strong showing of connecting with both the Nashville industry and with country music fans. His album includes collaborations with a range of country artists, highlighting his respect for the genre by including both modern-day hitmakers like Lainey Wilson, Luke Combs and Morgan Wallen, but also legends including Dolly Parton and Hank Williams, Jr. He wrote with Nashville writers for the album, and has showed up at nearly every Nashville country music venue possible, from the Grand Ole Opry to the Bluebird Café. But he’s also connected with fans through appearances at Stagecoach and his recent Marathon Music Works show — and for the country music audience, that intentionality in connecting with fans still goes a long way.
Jason Lipshutz: Not if you actually listened to “I Had Some Help,” and heard how naturally Post’s voice adapted to a country-pop sound alongside a Nashville superstar like Wallen. The ease with which he entered that lane suggested that he could maintain that stance for a full country album, especially one where he’d be flanked by established genre stars. And sure enough, F-1 Trillion is rife with guest stars that Posty can play off of, as well as a handful of solo tracks that were saved for the deluxe edition of the album. It was a foolproof formula for this project, and I’m not surprised that listeners have embraced it.
Katie Atkinson: Absolutely not. I remember assigning a story back in 2021 about all the times Post had “gone country.” It’s quaint to look back at that list, because the genre lines are so very blurred now – especially with a borderless artist like Post Malone – that all his country moments were so obviously inherent to him then and now. I mean, he’s from Texas, for starters. But the smartest thing he did with his first country outing is to get more than a dozen of the genre’s biggest stars to collaborate with him and co-sign his Nashville bona fides. Like, are you going to say this man isn’t country – because he has face tattoos, because he’s made rap music, etc., etc. – when Hank Williams Jr. says he is?
Lyndsey Havens: Not at all. The one thing I have learned from my years as a Post Malone fan is that he can’t really surprise us – he’s shown his range from the start. Take his debut album Stoney, a project on which his breakout hip-hop hit “White Iverson” fits perfectly alongside a warbly acoustic ballad like “Feeling Whitney” (in which he sings of putting on “a little Dwight” Yoakam). Plus, the first and only video Post has uploaded to the YouTube account created under his birth name, Austin Post, is a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Don’t Think Twice.” But more than any one genre, the thing that most foreshadowed Post’s pivot to country is his songwriting. And now, after years of honing those chops and building a network of Nashville’s hottest names, it’s no wonder he’s having such success.
Melinda Newman: Not at all. Country is having a moment (which many of us hope becomes a movement), and Post Malone has now become part of that. His timing was perfect, but if you talk to anyone in Nashville who worked with him, he put in the work. He spent months in Nashville working with top songwriters and immersing himself in the scene, popping up at local clubs to play. Plus, as a Texas boy, he grew up on country (among other genres), and folks in Nashville talk about how he is a country music jukebox. He is steeped in the stuff.
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3. “I Had Some Help” is still going strong at No. 2 on the Hot 100 chart, although plenty of F-1 Trillion tracks debut on this week’s chart. Which song from the album do you think has the highest potential as a follow-up hit to “Help”?
Jessica Nicholson: His Blake Shelton collaboration “Pour Me a Drink” is currently not far behind on the Hot 100, at No. 13. The song is also in the top 15 on the Country Airplay chart and is directly behind “I Had Some Help” on the Hot Country Songs chart, sitting at No. 3. Elsewhere, he recently released a video with Luke Combs for their collab “A Guy For That,” and that track is at No. 7 on the Hot Country Songs chart. However, his album also includes the Jelly Roll collab “Losers,” which could be primed to dominate as well.
Jason Lipshutz: “California Sober” with Chris Stapleton debuted at No. 34 on this week’s Hot 100, and I could see that reaching a higher peak in due time — that song is an absolute blast to yell along to in a windows-down situation, as Post Malone and Stapleton let their harmonies rip into the plucked guitar strings. Stapleton hasn’t had a true pop crossover moment in a minute, and “California Sober” might be his ticket to the Hot 100’s upper reaches. Get these two together on an awards show stage, pronto!
Katie Atkinson: The gritty opening track “Wrong Ones” with Tim McGraw has my vote for the chorus alone: “I’m just lookin’ for the right one/ But them wrong ones keep lookin’ at me.” That needs to be on country radio, stat. While McGraw has been making country music for 30 years now, 15 of his top 20 Hot Country Songs hits are from the last decade and he’s due for another.
Lyndsey Havens: While previous pop-leaning country singles like “Pour Me a Drink” or “Guy For That” feel like obvious picks, I’m rooting for the dizzying “California Sober” with Chris Stapleton. But then, there’s the downtrodden anthem “Losers” with Jelly Roll, who is no stranger to the Hot 100 himself… With so many songs to choose from, it’s still a toss-up for me which one will raise its hand next.
Melinda Newman: Both “Pour Me A Drink” with Blake Shelton and “Guy For That” with Luke Combs are already getting some airplay at country radio, and if you’re going with what fits right in with what else is on country radio right now in terms of tempo, I’d pick “Devil I’ve Been,” featuring ERNEST, or “Nosedive,” since he hasn’t had a ballad as a single yet and Lainey Wilson is so hot. However, I’d love to see “California Sober” with Chris Stapleton have a shot at radio. We placed it at No. 1 on our ranking of the album’s tracks, because it’s a fun rave-up where they both sound like they’re having a blast. Does it sound like most of what’s playing on radio right now? No, it does not. It’s a little more freewheeling and doesn’t have a structured chorus, but it sure sounds great in the car with the windows down.
4. Post Malone collaborates with over a dozen country artists on F-1 Trillion — but which one that isn’t on the album would you still love to hear him team up with someday?
Jessica Nicholson: He’s proven he knows his way around Texas swing and honky tonk, anthems thanks to songs on his F-1 Trillion: Long Bed deluxe project, thanks to songs like “Back to Texas” and “Who Needs You.” Adding his fellow Texans Miranda Lambert or “King George” Strait to a track would be superb.
Jason Lipshutz: Let’s go with Sam Hunt, a hook maestro who’s long been adept at nudging his country style into different sonic territories. Imagine Post Malone contributing verse to a soothing, snappy country anthem akin to “Body Like a Back Road” — pretty intriguing, right?
Katie Atkinson: I’m stunned that his fellow Texan Kacey Musgraves isn’t on this album, so I’m going to need that collab on the next one. Her syrupy-sweet vocals next to his gravelly vibrato would be the perfect yin and yang.
Lyndsey Havens: Right now, in this moment, I have to say Shaboozey. I think the two of them would emerge with an absolute smash that perfectly blends their voices and effortlessly fuses country and Americana with a hint of hip-hop.
Melinda Newman: Without a doubt, fellow Texan George Strait. I’m curious if they tried and it didn’t work out timing-wise or it just wasn’t George’s thing. It would also be a blast to hear him and Garth Brooks do a duet.
5. If you could offer Post Malone some advice on his next studio project — either continue exploring country music, return to rap, or try something new entirely — what would you tell him?
Jessica Nicholson: I think further exploring country music and cementing his place in the genre beyond one album would be a smart move, especially given the track record of artists such as Kenny Rogers, Conway Twitty, and Darius Rucker who have found longevity within the country genre after having previous indie-pop sounds. Additionally, the breadth of sounds under country’s present-day umbrella makes some modern country hits sound not that far removed from Post’s own indie-pop hits. Perhaps even a hybrid project of country songs and his more rock stylings wouldn’t be out of the question, a la HARDY’s The Mockingbird & The Crow.
Jason Lipshutz: I might go with the “try something new entirely,” simply because Post Malone has already mined hip-hop and country music to great success, and has demonstrated a chameleonic ability to blend into the scene around him. What other sounds could be conquer? Could Posty link up with his pal Andrew Watt for a full-blown rock opus, or crank out a pop classic alongside Max Martin? If Post Malone made a jazz album, or a metal album… they would be surprisingly good, right? He is one of the smarter shape-shifting popular artists of our time, and I would never want Posty to do anything other than chase his muse.
Katie Atkinson: Do whatever you want! This is a man of multitudes who is clearly a natural fit in a lot of different worlds, and I just want to be along for the ride wherever the chameleon shows up next.
Lyndsey Havens: I have long begged for Post to release a folk album as Austin Post. His Dylan cover has lived in my head rent-free for a decade, and whether he chooses to release a project of covers in the same lane or continue to explore a folk-pop sound like his labelmate Noah Kahan, with whom he has collaborated on a remix of “Dial Drunk,” I’d be happy with whatever direction he chooses. Fortunately, with an artist like Post, nothing ever seems off the table – especially if you can also play beer pong on it.
Melinda Newman: I’d be curious to see where he goes if he keeps exploring country. The nine songs he released the next day after F-1 Trillion’s release, under F-1 Trillion: Long Bed, are way more traditionally country than the duets on F-1 Trillion, both stylistically and in instrumentation. He’s got a fine voice for country (though it seems that no style is beyond his vocal capabilities). What happens if he keeps leaning in that direction?
“Dirt Cheap” hitmaker Cody Johnson has collaborated with artists like Jelly Roll (they recorded “Whiskey Bent” on Johnson’s album Leather album) and Terri Clark (the two performed “I Just Wanna Be Mad” on Clark’s Take Two album). But he has his sights set on a duet with the reigning CMA and ACM entertainer of the year winner.
During a recent interview with Country Countdown USA’s Lon Helton, Johnson said he’s long aimed at doing a collaboration with Lainey Wilson.
“I’m going duck hunting with her boyfriend Duck [Devlin “Duck” Hodges]. I guess that’s how he got his name, because he’s really into hunting,” he said. “I heard Loretta Lynn’s ‘Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man.’ I called Lainey and said we should record that song together, and she agreed. But we haven’t done it yet.”
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“Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man,” a collab by Lynn and Conway Twitty, reached No. 1 on Hot Country Songs in August 1973 and received a Grammy nod for best country vocal performance by a duo or group.
It’s safe to say Wilson has been busy of late, having just released her new album, Whirlwind. Johnson, whose song “Dirt Cheap” is in the top 10 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart, also revealed that another country music A-lister, Luke Combs, had been pitched “Dirt Cheap”– but Johnson got to it first.
Johnson said of Combs, “He didn’t click on it. So here’s to you Luke! He didn’t listen to it until I after released it. He thought the title looked familiar. I talked about it afterwards — had some choice words to say about ‘Dirt Cheap.’ I said, ‘Everything happens for a reason.’”
Recently Johnson headlined a rodeo in Brazil, at Cowboy Festival Barretos. “They called me, and we sold the thing out,” he said. “That’s pretty cool.” The festival has been around since the 1950s and has previously featured headliners including Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, Shakira, Mariah Carey and Shania Twain.
The primary question around Texas country singer Randall King for the last several years has not been if will he break through on a national stage, but when? The answer could well be 2024, as Warner Music Nashville releases a single to country radio. “I Could Be That Rain” has a classic sound that draws from his ‘90s-country influences, and a weather-beaten lyric that rings true to his Amarillo roots.
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“I just flat out love storms, man, being from West Texas, how open it is, how flat,” he says. “They say you can watch a dog run off for three days out there. And you can watch the thunderheads just rolling in, and it’s beautiful.”
The emotions in “I Could Be That Rain” aren’t nearly as beautiful, though, as they are twisted. The protagonist finds himself shut out by his ex, with no chance to get close to her again. If only he could take the place of a rain shower, he could manage to touch her once more. Morphing into a downpour might be a little sci-fi for country, but the broken heart behind it grounds the story.
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“It’s just so real,” King says. “That’s what country music should be.”
Songwriter Mason Thornley developed the title and concept circa 2021 when he heard Brit-pop artist Labrinth’s 2014 ballad “Jealous” on Spotify. That song goes through a list of people and natural elements that may be sharing space with an ex, leaving the singer frustrated that his love interest is moving on when he cannot.
Thornley focused specifically on the rain in the opening image of “Jealous,” believing that that smaller concept could be built into something much larger. “I always thought that was a whole country song in itself,” he says.
Thornley developed the chorus hook and opening line, “Wish I could be that rain,” and wrote the front half of the chorus, personifying a downpour. As raindrops, he fantasized, he could touch his ex’s skin or sing her a song through the rhythm of raindrops on a tin roof.
He pitched the idea in several writing appointments, but didn’t get any traction. Finally, he got a good reception for his rain song during a writing appointment at the office of his publisher, the aptly named Deluge Music. Artist-writer Brian Fuller, one of Thornley’s frequent writing partners, thought humanizing the rain was a bit of an outlier concept, but he saw that as a positive.
“The wackier or weirder the idea, the more interesting it is to me,” Fuller says. “I like being able to chase hooks like that and just see [what happens]. Sometimes they turn out great. Sometimes they don’t turn out at all. But I really loved it. I mean, it wasn’t anything that I hesitated on at all.”
They finished the back half of the chorus – the first line in that exercise, “Wish I could move some clouds into your sunshine,” might be the song’s best – then moved to the first verse, pitched significantly lower to create some drama in the chorus.
“I like to write those big, overarching choruses a lot of times, if you got a singer in the room who can do it,” Thornley says. “Brian’s got a great voice, and it’s not a problem for him to go up and hit those notes.”Going low in the verse allowed for introspection. For that first stanza, they used a July shower to make the protagonist nostalgic, recalling the romantic moments the couple experienced in the rain. For the second verse, the singer contemplates how, if he had morphed into rain, he could affect her in ways he could not as a human.
“It’s not that I’m going to text her, or I’m going to go try to see where she’s at, if she’s at a bar that we used to hang out at, or she’s with her friends,” Fuller says. “I’m not going to drive by her house and see if she’s home. If there’d be a unique way to do this, if there’d be a way that I could get back to her and make her think about me, I know that the rain would be the way to do it.”
They didn’t cut a demo immediately, but when Thornley was on vacation months later, Fuller discovered that Parker McCollum was considering outside songs for a project. “I Could Be That Rain” seemed like a potential match to Fuller, so he asked Thornley if they could finish the demo. Thornley worked on it during his downtime, and when he got back to Nashville, Fuller put a vocal on it.
“Rain” didn’t land with McCollum, so Fuller recorded his own version with producer Joey Hyde. When Durango artist manager Scott Gunter was shopping for a producer for developing vocalist Jake Jacobson, Hyde sent that recording among several others to demonstrate his skills. Gunter listened steadily to “Rain” for weeks before he realized that the song might work for King. Indeed, King was instantly attracted to it, though he called Fuller to make sure it was cool.
Once he got a thumbs-up, King and co-producer Jared Conrad recorded it at Nashville’s Soundstage in July 2023, intent on balancing his ‘90s proclivities with 2020s touches. “I wanted it to still be the traditional country sound that I have, but with a little bit of that darker, modern edge,” King says. “I have a Gary Allan/Dierks Bentley influence in me, that’s kind of ‘Smoke Rings in the Dark.’ And that’s what we wanted on this record. I wanted to put some ‘Smoke’ on it.”
The band played it three times at a slightly faster tempo with okay results, but on the fourth go-round, King suggested steel guitarist Justin Schipper take a more prominent role, playing the opening signature lick and handling the instrumental solo.
“Production-wise, we did try to take it a little more sad,” Conrad says. “I mean, just adding a steel guitar to it helps that immediately.”
King also wanted to weave the feel of rain on a tin roof into the sound. Tim Galloway hinted at that with a pulsing rhythm on bouzouki, a tinny-sounding Greek stringed instrument, but King heightened the effect by asking drummer Evan Hutchings to play in tandem with Galloway, tapping the metallic side of the snare.
When King sang the final vocals for the album, Into the Neon, he held “Rain” back until the end, fearful that its range might destroy his voice for the rest of the songs. “This is by far the hardest record I’ve ever sang in my life,” he says. But he handled a couple full run-throughs well, then Conrad changed things up to focus on specific parts of the song.
“We just chopped it up into the sections so I could do all the low verses together and then move into the choruses,” Conrad says. “But I’m assuming he had practiced it a lot, because in the studio, it felt super natural.”
Warner Music Nashville released “Rain” to country radio via PlayMPE on July 10, making it his first single the label has worked nationally to primary stations. King is confident in its potential.
“It’s a song that people can relate to,” he says. “People understand when you’re hurting and missing somebody. You’re hoping that they hurt and miss you, too. That’s as straightforward as it could go.”
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Sometimes a dream becomes a wish that comes true. That is clearly the case for Post Malone, who shared a video on Monday (August 26) in which he is playfully snuggled up with his duet partner: country icon Dolly Parton. “Don’t have the heart to break yours @DollyParton,” the rapper-turned-country-cronner labeled the X post accompanying a nine-second clip of the dynamic duo sharing smiles during a photo shoot.
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With the sound of the camera shutter clicking in the background, Malone, 29, strikes a silly arms-wide-open pose at first, as Parton, 78, leans her head into his chest, a broad smile on her face. “You are amazing, I’m so… I can’t believe it, my heart’s beating so fast,” Malone tells his musical hero Parton, who shifts positions, taking Posty’s hands and positioning them so that he’s hugging her around the waist from behind as the photographer breaks out in a loud laugh.
Parton posted an Instagram video from the meet cute two weeks ago, writing, “@postmalone’s always said nice things about me and I’ve always appreciated it. He’s got such a big heart.” In the video Malone tells Parton, “whatever you need from me in the whole world,, I’m there,” as the two joke around, with Dolly yanking on Post’s baseball hat and complaining that he’s too tall as he crouches down to meet her eye. Legendarily polite, Malone repeatedly says “yes ma’am” as the two make small talk, with Dolly remembering that she saw a picture of a custom suit Malone wore in 2019 covered in images of the country superstar.
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In the lyric video for the song, Malone flips through a bunch of Parton memorabilia, including a vintage 1979 Dolly pinball machine.
The look of sheer joy on Malone’s face in the pics (see below) in that moment is palpable and he has good reason to be elated. His debut country LP, F-1 Trillion, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 (dated August 31) with 250,00 equivalent album units earned in its opening week, according to Luminate; the album is also Posty’s first No. 1 on the Top Country Albums chart.
In addition, all 18 songs from the standard edition charted on the Billboard Hot 100 – including all 15 collaborations – led by former six-week No. 1 smash with Morgan Wallen, “I Had Some Help” at No. 2.
Check out the sweet moment between Malone and Parton below.
Luke Bryan was among the dozens of country artists honoring the late Toby Keith during a Nashville taping at Bridgestone Arena in July as part of the two-hour NBC concert special Toby Keith: American Icon, which will air Wednesday (Aug. 28) from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET/PT, and Billboard has an exclusive look at […]
Nearly a decade ago, as a college senior, rising country singer Kassi Ashton signed a record deal with Universal Music Group Nashville (UMGN)/Interscope Records. Now 30 — and following the success of her highest-charting single to date — the California, Mo. native will finally release her anticipated debut album, Made From the Dirt, on Sept. 20.
Foundation
Singer-songwriter Ashton is a study in contrasts: a motorcycle enthusiast who designs and crafts many of her stage and red-carpet outfits from scratch (including for this year’s Academy of Country Music Awards, where she was nominated for new female artist of the year). As a child, she competed in pageants mostly as a vessel for showcasing her music. Even then, her vocal prowess was apparent, thanks to influence from vocalists including Adele, Aretha Franklin and (later) the country-soul of Chris Stapleton. Ashton soon started writing original songs, enrolling at Nashville’s Belmont University to study commercial voice and music business.
Discovery
In 2016, as college graduation neared, Ashton signed a management and publishing deal with Nashville-based Creative Nation. By 2017, she scored a label deal with UMGN in partnership with Interscope. But the ensuing years were spent refining her sound and weathering setbacks, with none of her singles promoted at radio — and no debut album. “I never felt like I should quit,” she says. “When I signed, they wanted me to go straight to radio. I said no because I didn’t have a song I wanted to sing for the rest of my life.” Her first full-length was also delayed by the pandemic in 2020, but in 2022, she finally issued her debut country radio single, “Dates in Pickup Trucks,” followed by “Drive You Out of My Mind.” The two songs built momentum, but this year’s “Called Crazy” has resonated most, rising to No. 32 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart. “It came so easy,” she says. “I felt like I was finding a pillar.”
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Future
Nearly a decade after inking her label deal, Ashton will release her long-awaited debut album, Made From the Dirt, on Sept. 20. She teamed with longtime collaborator Luke Laird, as well as Oscar Charles, to craft an eclectic mix of uptempo jams (“I Don’t Wanna Dance”), grungy rock gems (“Son of a Gun”) and a heartfelt tribute to her late grandmother (“Juanita”). “I couldn’t have made this album at 23,” Ashton says. “It would have been rushed and not steady with who I am as a person. I can’t wait to see how what I’ve put energy, time and tears into is connecting.”
A version of this story appears in the Aug. 24, 2024, issue of Billboard.
After seven years on her label, Tenille Townes and Sony Nashville have parted ways. Though Townes has achieved much success in her native Canada, including winning 15 Canadian Country Music Association Awards over the past five years, her Stateside career never experienced the same liftoff, even after winning the ACM Award for new female artist of […]
Post Malone is back with another massive week on Billboard’s charts, thanks to his new album F-1 Trillion.
The set launches at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 (dated Aug. 31) with 250,000 equivalent album units earned in its opening week, according to Luminate. That’s the second-biggest week of 2024 for a country album, following the opening frame of Beyonce’s Cowboy Carter (407,000 units) in April. F-1 Trillion also becomes Post Malone’s first No. 1 on the Top Country Albums chart.
All 18 songs from F-1 Trillion’s standard edition chart on the Billboard Hot 100 – including all 15 collaborations – led by former six-week No. 1 “I Had Some Help” at No. 2. Here’s a recap (all of which are debuts except where noted):
Rank, Title:No. 2, “I Had Some Help,” feat. Morgan Wallen (holds at No. 2; spent six weeks at No. 1 in May-July)No. 13, “Pour Me a Drink,” feat. Blake Shelton (up from No. 30; peaked at No. 12 in July)No. 17, “Guy for That,” feat. Luke Combs (up from No. 36; returns to peak)No. 23, “Wrong Ones,” feat. Tim McGrawNo. 25, “Losers,” feat. Jelly RollNo. 34, “California Sober,” feat. Chris StapletonNo. 40, “What Don’t Belong to Me”No. 42, “Finer Things,” feat. Hank Williams Jr.No. 50, “Nosedive,” feat. Lainey WilsonNo. 54, “Yours”No. 56, “Have the Heart,” feat. Dolly PartonNo. 60, “Goes Without Saying,” feat. Brad PaisleyNo. 63, “Missin’ You Like This,” feat. Luke CombsNo. 65, “Hide My Gun,” feat. HARDYNo. 66, “Devil I’ve Been,” feat. ERNESTNo. 78, “Never Love You Again,” feat. Sierra FerrellNo. 83, “M-E-X-I-C-O,” feat. Billy StringsNo. 88, “Right About You”
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(The standard edition of F-1 Trillion was released on Aug. 16 and sports 18 songs. Later on Aug. 16, Post Malone released a deluxe reissue, dubbed the “Long Bed” edition, with nine additional solo tracks by the singer.)
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Post Malone also charts a 19th song on the latest Hot 100: Taylor Swift’s former two-week No. 1 “Fortnight,” on which he’s featured, ranks at No. 55. The haul marks a new weekly best, surpassing his 18 entries on May 12, 2018, when his album beerbongs & bentleys made its chart arrival.
With 15 debuts, Post Malone ups his career total to 95 career Hot 100 entries. Of those, 48 have reached the top 40, 13 have made the top 10 and six have hit No. 1. He first appeared on the chart dated Sept. 26, 2015, with his breakthrough hit “White Iverson.”
Multiple guests on F-1 Trillion make notable visits to the Hot 100. Thanks to his feature on “Finer Things,” Hank Williams Jr. tallies his fourth career entry on the chart, and first since “A Country Boy Can Survive (Y2K Version),” with Chad Brock and George Jones, in 2000. Before that, he had last charted in 1964 with “Long Gone Lonesome Blues” and “Endless Sleep.” “Finer Things,” at No. 42, is now the highest-charting song of his career.
With her role on “Have the Heart,” Dolly Parton adds her 22nd career Hot 100 hit and second this year, after “Tyrant,” with Beyoncé. Before that, she had last charted via her featured turn on Brad Paisley’s “When I Get Where I’m Going” in 2006. This marks the first calendar year that Parton has charted multiple songs since 1985, when she logged two duets with Kenny Rogers—“The Greatest Gift of All” and “Real Love.”
Plus, Billy Strings scores his first career Hot 100 entry thanks to his featured appearance on “M-E-X-I-C-O.” The 31-year-old bluegrass star has already forged a successful history on Billboard’s rankings, including seven career entries on the Bluegrass Albums chart:
Peak Position, Title, YearNo. 3, Turmoil & Tinfoil, 2017No. 1 (25 weeks), Home, 2019No. 10, An OurVinyl Sessions (EP), 2019No. 1 (9 weeks), Renewal, 2021No. 1 (16 weeks), Me / And / Dad, 2022No. 6, Meet Me at the Creek / Pyramid Country / Must Be Seven / Meet Me at the Creek (Live at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Winston-Salem, NC 3/4/23), 2023No. 1 (5 weeks), Live, Vol. 1, 2024
He has spent 55 total weeks at No. 1 on the Bluegrass Albums chart in his career (encompassing the No. 1 runs of his four leaders). That’s the fifth-most since the list launched in 2002, after Alison Krauss (242), Steve Martin (83), Nickel Creek (82) and Old Crow Medicine Show (66).
Three of his albums have also reached the Billboard 200: Renewal (No. 82 peak), Me / And / Dad (No. 37) and Live, Vol. 1 (No. 58). He has also raked in six Grammy Award nominations, winning for best bluegrass album in 2021 for Home.