Yahoo Lifestyle ‘I Had Some Help’: Post Malone and Morgan Wallen Quickly Bonded and Wrote Seven Songs During Their First Session Together – Including This Smash Hit
As the definition of “genre” becomes increasingly elastic, more artists are blurring the lines. In March, Beyoncé went country with “Cowboy Carter,” and Post Malone, who features on that record, wasn’t too far behind. He introduced his album “F-1 Trillion” in April with “I Had Some Help,” a crossover anthem featuring country bad boy Morgan Wallen that spent six non-consecutive weeks at No. 1 and earned two Grammy nominations.
As it turns out, Malone and Wallen had longstanding plans to collaborate. “I had worked with both of them for years leading into the collaboration, and it was something we had always wanted to do. But it just came down to timing,” says Mercury Records president Tyler Arnold. The stars finally aligned in 2023 when Malone and Wallen joined country star Hardy for a Joe Diffie tribute at the Country Music Awards. “While they didn’t write ‘I Had Some Help’ on that trip, Post and Morgan started their creative relationship in the studio.”
More from Variety
Seth England, CEO of Wallen’s label, Big Loud, adds, “I’ve been friends with Tyler and [Malone’s manager] Austin Rosen for a very long time now. When Post told his team he wanted to make country music, we were their first call.”
The session that spawned “I Had Some Help” would come later that year when Malone headed to Nashville with longtime collaborator Louis Bell to link up with Wallen and his crew of Big Loud heavy hitters, including Charlie Handsome, Ernest and Ashley Gorley. “[I got a] text from the studio on night one saying they had just written nearly seven full songs,” England remembers.
“Getting to be behind the scenes, you learn how rare it can be for it to flow that quickly,” he continues. “So, after they wrote so many ideas on the first night, I knew the whole project could become exciting quickly.” “I Had Some Help” was one of the songs they wrote in that initial session.
“I met up with Post and Morgan in Nashville the night they made the song, and I remember hearing it for the first time,” Arnold says. “We were all so excited and could feel that this one was special.” With a potential smash in the can, the artists’ respective teams got to work.
“It was probably the best rollout I’ve ever been a part of,” Arnold says, listing prerelease previews, the buzz surrounding Malone’s first country song, their joint performance at StageCoach, a suitably earthy video filmed in Joshua Tree and the multi-format radio and streaming blitz as highlights.
While Mercury Records steered the promotional ship, Big Loud held its own. “We worked with Post and his entire team on most aspects of the project, which was so fun,” England says. “Naturally, our team helped market and promote ‘I Had Some Help’ to country radio.” There was one minor hiccup, however, when Wallen accidentally posted a very rough demo online that elicited a mixed response from confused fans.
Undeterred, Post selected “I Had Some Help” as his lead single, officially previewing the song with the tongue-in-cheek caption “How about the real mix this time.” It didn’t take long for Malone’s decision to be validated. “As the overwhelming feedback came in,” England recalls, “we let out a big sigh of relief.”
Songwriters: Louis Bell, Ernest, Ashley Gorley, Charlie Handsome, Jonathan Hoskins, Post Malone, Morgan Wallen, Chandler Walters
Producers: Louis Bell, Charlie Handsome, Jonathan Hoskins
Label: Republic/Mercury
Hitmakers:
•Louis Bell, songwriter and producer
•Charlie Handsome, producer
•Tyler Arnold, president, Mercury Records
•Seth England, CEO, Big Loud
•Austin Rosen, CEO, Electric Feel
Publishers: Big Loud Mountain, Bell Ear Publishing, Ern Dog Music, Erns Cadillac Music, Honey Hole Publishing, Master of My Domain Publishing, Poppy’s Picks, Posty Publishing, Sony Music Publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music
Best of Variety
Sign up for Variety's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
