Morgan Wallen Hits the Studio with Post Malone and Ernest

It seems Post Malone's long-awaited foray into country music is on the horizon, with the ‘Sunflower’ hitmaker having recently hit the studio with Morgan Wallen and Ernest.

Ernest shared a photo of the trio to Instagram, with the studio shot immediately sending fans into a frenzy, as they speculated that the three artists might be working on a collaboration.

At the start of the month, it was announced that Post Malone, Morgan Wallen and HARDY would be taking the stage at the 2023 CMA Awards for a highly anticipated medley of country classics.

As a result, it seems possible that Morgan Wallen and Posty could just have been in the studio honing their setlist for the medley. However, the inclusion of Ernest in the session, who has penned hits for Morgan, HARDY and a plethora of pop-leaning artists, suggests that the trio were indeed collaborating on new music.

Despite generally operating within the worlds of Hip Hop and Pop, Post Malone's longstanding penchant for country music is no secret. The New York native has shared a slew of top-tier country covers in recent years, including Brad Paisley's ‘I'm Gonna Miss Her’, Sturgill Simpson's ‘You Can Have The Crown’ and more.

Fans have been clamouring for the chart titan to release a country album for a number of years now, and it seems Posty has been inching closer to the genre in recent months.

For instance, Post Malone teamed up for a folk-leaning duet with Noah Kahan, ‘Dial Drunk’, in July, while Posty also shared on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast that he's a huge fan of artists such as Colter Wall, Tyler Childers and Sturgill. He even went as far as underlining that he'd tried to collaborate with Colter in the past. In addition, Post Malone will be performing a series of country covers at Stagecoach 2024, as part of a bill that also includes Morgan Wallen.

With a range of country artists having previously shared their admiration for Post Malone, including HARDY and Jelly Roll, it's safe to say there will be a long line of hopeful collaborators queuing up to join forces with the ‘Chemical’ songsmith.

Nonetheless, if he's going to begin anywhere, recording a song - or, ideally, a few songs - with one of the most popular artists of 2023, Morgan Wallen, and one of the most decorated Nashville songwriters, Ernest, feels like a pretty unbeatable starting point.

Given Morgan Wallen's frequent flirtation with Rap and R&B, most notably on his two celebrated Lil Durk collaborations, ‘Broadway Girls’ and ‘Stand By Me’, it's unclear as to whether this potential Posty link-up will lean towards country or Hip Hop.

Renowned genre-blurring producer, Charlie Handsome - otherwise known as Ryan Vojtesak - was tagged in Ernest's photo of the three artists. Handsome has worked with both Post Malone and Morgan Wallen in the past, they'll certainly be in safe hands when it comes to finding a meeting point between their respective styles.

In the comments, US Rap producer, Tay Keith, teased, “Boutta pull up and give yall some trap beats”, to which Ernest replied with a hint that the prospective collaboration will be rooted in country music, referencing the genre's famously prominent steel guitar. Ernest responded, “Tay Keith and Chandler Walters will soak them in steel”.

Regardless of what Morgan Wallen, Post Malone and Ernest are tantalisingly cooking up in the studio, we're just happy that Posty is continuing to venture in country music, with his distinctive vocals and electrifying songwriting sure to light up the genre.

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