Cody Johnson Met Post Malone While He Was Sneaking A Cigarette At The ACM Awards & Now They’re Going Hunting Together

A tale as old as time… or possibly the beginnings of a great country song?

Over the weekend, Cody Johnson scored his third #1 single at mainstream country radio with “Dirt Cheap,” which peaked at the top of the Mediabase country chart (one of two charts labels use to track their songs performance, along with the Billboard Country Airplay chart).

And in an interview with Country Countdown USA’s Lon Helton as he co-hosted the show not long ago, CoJo talked about the song, his desire to work with Lainey Wilson, and also how he met Post Malone for the first time.

Of course, Posty just put out his very first country album F-1 Trillion, and has been in and out of Nashville for the last year or so writing and recording with tons of other country artists like Lainey, Dolly Parton, Brad Paisley and many more.

But unfortunately, Cody wasn’t featured on the record, though I initially thought (before the full list of collabs came out), that they would be a great pairing, especially seeing as they’re both very proud Texans.

And as it turns out, while Cody and Posty haven’t had a chance to write together or anything yet, they met by chance in the bathroom at the ACM Awards earlier this year, as Posty was in there sneaking a cigarette during the show (hilarious) and they immediately hit it off.

So much so, that CoJo says he and Posty are going to go hunting together in Texas this fall:

“I’d never met Post Malone, but I knew he was from Texas. He snuck into the bathroom to smoke a cigarette. I walked in after him.

We got to talking, and I think we’re gonna go hunting in October. I’m gonna guide him on a hunt in Texas. He’s a genuine guy.”

I feel like that’s the most fitting, and organic, possible way to meet Post Malone, and I’m here for it.

Also, I selfishly hope they get a great song out of their little hunting trip, too… while maybe not an obvious of a pair as maybe Morgan Wallen and Posty were, I think Post and Cody each have really unique, strong and gritty voices that would sound great together.

Post’s country album has grown on me more and more over the last month or so, and I really love the songs on F-1 Trillion: Long Bed and hope he’s not done making country music quite yet (including a Cody Johnson duet, obviously).

Stay tuned…

RANKED: Every Song On Post Malone’s New ‘F-1 Trillion’ Album

I liked a lot of the pre-released singles from Post Malone debut country album F-1 Trillion, but I LOVED some of the deep cuts on the full tracklist.

Honestly, I’ve been a fan of Post Malone for a long time now, and he’s one of the only current “pop” artists that I follow closely and actually know most of his extensive catalog… so when he first started getting into country and eventually announced this album, I was really excited.

And as you’ll see on this list, I’m definitely partial to the solo efforts, and I think that’s where he shines in terms of his love for and ability to sing country music. Don’t get me wrong, there are some great collabs with country artists that are some of my favorites, and you’ll see that reflected here too.

Of course, with any list, I feel like a disclaimer is necessary and obviously, everyone’s music taste is so subjective and we’re all going to gravitate to different songs for different reasons. Overall, I find his debut country album impressive and worthy of some real attention from country fans and general music fans alike.

And because there are 27 songs to choose from, I’m sure in a month or so I might have a completely different list… this is just my initial reaction after sitting with the album for a few days now.

Here we go:

27. “Pour Me A Drink ft. Blake Shelton”

I don’t think it’s a bad song by any means, it just didn’t stand out for me among the rest of the tracklist and sounds a little bit stuck in 2014.

26. “Guy For That ft. Luke Combs”

Another one of the pre-released singles, it’s a solid song but doesn’t do much for me in the grand scheme of all the other great music, including the other duet from Post and Luke that I absolutely love, “Missin’ You Like This.”

25. “I Had Some Help ft. Morgan Wallen”

The multi-week mega hit that started it all, I like this song, but I’ve heard it a lot at this point so I can’t say that it’s one of my absolute favorites, though I think the Post-Morgan pairing clearly works quite well and I’d like to hear more from them as a duo.

24. “Goes Without Saying ft. Brad Paisley”

I feel like this one shouldn’t be as far down on this list as it is, because I really like the song and think Paisley and Malone work well together, but overall it just didn’t stand out for whatever reason.

23. “Dead At The Honky Tonk”

I love the title of this one and appreciate some of the quirks in the production and delivery, it just didn’t stand out for me as much as so many other songs on this great album.

22. “Fallin’ In Love”

A catchy melody, super country production and tons of fiddle, it’s a pretty song about fallin’ in love, as the title suggests.

21. “Ain’t How It Ends”

A breakup song about Post not wanting a relationship to be over, some of the lyrics are a tad bit cliché, but I think that’s kind of the point at the same time.

20. “Hide My Gun ft. HARDY”

This is exactly the song I expected from Posty and Hardy, which is full of clever lyrics and would sound right at home on a Hardy album, too.

19. “Devil I’ve Been ft. ERNEST”

Down the middle country, Ernest and Post wrote together a lot for this album and this is a solid addition to the record that enhances that classic and 90’s-inspired sound you hear throughout.

18. “What Don’t Belong To Me”

Another solo standout, I always like hearing Post slow down and sing from the heart.

17. “Wrong Ones ft. Tim McGraw”

Post lets it rip vocally here, and I love the dirty, southern rock sound flavor in the production. He does that surprisingly well, and McGraw was the right choice in terms of a feature. I’ve had this one on repeat.

16. “Right About You”

A sincere, sweet simple song about Posty finding true love and elevating his life with the lady he loves unconditionally.

15. “Nosedive ft. Lainey Wilson”

A heartfelt tune about finding happiness in the hard times and embracing life when things are going wrong, I think this one will also become a quick fan-favorite and these two are a perfect match, both at the top of their game right now.

14. “Who Needs You”

A sarcastic, biting song lyrically, it’s one of the most old school, classic country songs on the album in terms of the production and I can’t wait to hear it live.

13. “Losers ft. Jelly Roll”

This one has certainly grown on me, and I can see this being a huge hit at country radio. They sell this song and the subject matter very authentically, I think it’s the perfect fit for them as a duet, and it will resonate with many different people and have wide appeal for that reason.

12. “Killed A Man”

What’s a country album without a murder ballad? Well, it’s a very different kind of murder ballad, that has a double meaning and I interpreted it as Posty “killing” the old, lesser version of himself in an effort to try to walk the straight and narrow now.

It’s a beautiful message about sobriety (though I don’t think Post himself is sober) and doing better for yourself and others, and shows off his depth as a writer and artist in a very meaningful way.

11. “M-E-X-I-C-O ft. Billy Strings”

The guitar work here is immaculate, and the production is a perfect mix of their musical styles. A standout on the record for sure, I sincerely hope Post and Billy have more music coming together.

10. “Two Hearts”

A tear in your beer, sad country divorce song with a simple production and some beautiful fiddle, this solo effort adds a lot of depth to the tracklist and is as timeless as can be.

9. “California Sober ft. Chris Stapleton”

Funky, soulful, and a duo that I could stand to hear a lot more from.

8. “Missin You Like This ft. Luke Combs”

Sad country songs make me happy, and I’ve had this one on repeat.

7. “Have The Heart ft. Dolly Parton”

Another standout, you can’t go wrong with Mrs. Dolly and she elevates everything she’s part of.

6. “Yours”

A tearjerker to say the least, I can only imagine all the father-daughter wedding dances to this song and I’m a huge fan of hearing this side of Post Malone, because it’s pretty rare but incredibly endearing (not that he needs help in that department, but I digress).

5. “Hey Mercedes”

I love the clever wordplay here, and the 90’s-inspired production makes it so easy to listen to and what’s a country album without a song about some sort of pretty lady and a vehicle? I can’t get enough…

4. “Back To Texas”

An homage to Posty’s native Texas, “Back To Texas” is also from F-1 Trillion: Long Bed and has that classic country feel too. His solo country songs just hit different.

3. “Finer Things ft. Hank Williams Jr.”

This is a HIT and I would love to see it hit the country radio airwaves at one point. Hank Jr. adds such a fun element and you can’t help but smile listening to it. It sounds like a Hank song from from the 80’s in the best way possible.

2. “Never Love You Again ft. Sierra Ferrell”

I fell in love with this one from the first time Post debuted it on the ACM Awards, and I love it even more with Sierra Ferrell’s incredible vocals on the track. A classic country heartbreaker and a song I have, and will, go back to often. Obsessed.

1. “Go To Hell”

Country as hell. Funny. Smart. Great wordplay… a hit-in-the-making and exactly what I wanted from Posty’s big country debut. NO NOTES.

That’s it for my list… what are some of your favorite songs from Posty’s country era and F-1 Trillion?