The album was supported by the release of five singles: "I Had Some Help", "Pour Me a Drink", "Guy for That", "What Don't Belong to Me", and "Losers". Upon release, F-1 Trillion received mostly positive reviews from music critics and charted at number one in Canada, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, the United Kingdom, and the United States. An extended edition of the album, subtitled Long Bed, was released twelve hours after the standard edition.
Background and composition
I split my time between a lot of different things because I am happily obligated to do concerts and show love to my fans and then I'm happily obligated to write music and make beats by myself, and I'm happily obligated to, you know, take care of my family. So, it's a lot of time, and it's about finding that space to allot that time. If I get another year to myself, maybe I'll make a fucking country album.
"I've always wanted to make a record like this, but for the longest time, it seems so inaccessible because I don't know how the hell it works. But going in there and meeting Derek and Larry Franklin and Paul Franklin and Craig and Dave Cohen and Aaron, and it was just, like, so cool. And then it's crazy to watch Derek Charta a playthrough of a voice memo and chart it and then go in there and they know it immediately. But we would go for like a week at a time or like a week and a half and around work and everything, and we would go and just write. And there's a lot of writers on these songs because we just sat and we stayed up till, like, six in the morning. All the buddies came in. We all just drank and fucking tossed shit around. And I learned that that's nothing usually, how it goes. Instead, we have, like, Luke and Mo and Hardy, and we're just sitting. And we got so many writers and not even necessarily there to write, just to, like, jam and then hang out."
Promotion
Singles
On May 10, 2024, Malone released the lead single of the album, "I Had Some Help", which features American country music singer Morgan Wallen. Commercially, the song debuted atop the Billboard Hot 100 with the highest weekly sales and streams since 2020, giving Malone his sixth number-one song.[9] On May 16, 2024, Malone performed the unreleased song "Never Love You Again" and "I Had Some Help" at the 59th Academy of Country Music Awards in Frisco, Texas.[10] On June 21, 2024, Malone released the second single of the album, "Pour Me a Drink", featuring American country music singer Blake Shelton, and also shared the album's cover art. On July 16, Malone performed at Music City's Marathon Music Works in Nashville, Tennessee. The set included the unreleased songs "Yours" and "Hide My Gun", with HARDY joining him for the latter song. On July 26, 2024, Malone released the third single of the album, "Guy for That", which features American country music singer Luke Combs. The track listing of the album was confirmed on July 31 via social media. An extended edition of the album, subtitled Long Bed, was released less than 12 hours after its release, featuring nine additional tracks.[11][12] "What Don't Belong to Me" was sent to Italian radio stations as the album's fourth single on September 12, 2024, followed by "Losers" featuring Jelly Roll on January 9, 2025.[13][14]
F-1 Trillion was met with generally positive reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received a weighted average score of 71, based on nine reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[17] Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 6.4 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus.[16]
Robin Murray of Clash gave the album a positive review, commending Malone's creativity and his commercial appeal. Murray states that even though F-1 Trillion at times is "struggling beneath its own weight", the album "is a love letter to the genre".[19] Neil Z. Yeung from AllMusic reviewed F-1 Trillion positively, describing the album as "full-on country foray" and opining that the album will please fans of the country music genre.[18] In a positive review, Joseph Hudak of Rolling Stone wrote that the album would have benefited from containing fewer features and more solo songs from Malone. Hudak praised "the most stripped-down" tracks, highlighting "Never Love You Again", "Missin' You Like This", and "M-E-X-I-C-O".[24] Writing for The Independent, Helen Brown praised Malone's songwriting skills and states that the album showcases his skills in songcraft. She wrote that although F-1 Trillion "loses some of his distinctive sound – and has none of the cool experiments of Beyoncé's record – it also showcases his undeniable songcrafting [sic] chops. Drivetime DJs are going to love it, and their listeners are all going to feel they're at the wheels of beaten-up American trucks".[21]
Writing for Pitchfork, Meaghan Garvey opined that Malone's "shift to fun, low-stakes pop-country feels so right, you wonder why it took so long". Garvey comments further on Malone's entry into the country music scene, writing that "there's enough proof here that Post has the voice, demeanor, and goodwill to easily ingratiate himself into the Nashville scene".[23]Neil McCormick of The Telegraph commended the album, writing that it represents "pure good ol' boy country" and that "Malone proves genuinely good at this stuff, with a sharp lyrical wit and sweet singing voice that rises to heights of soulful passion when needs be, notably on the disco flecked 'What Don't Belong to Me' and twisty alt-folk of 'Nosedive'".[26]
In a mixed review, Michael Cragg of The Guardian believed the album to be "a little formulaic" and in need of more risk-taking by Malone. Cragg wrote that "there's a lot to enjoy about F-1 Trillion, and it feels tailor-made for chart domination, but as much as Malone felt hip hop was limiting his oeuvre, it at least gifted him moments to really let loose, as on the ludicrous epic 'Take What You Want' featuring Ozzy Osbourne and Travis Scott. On F-1 Trillion, trussed up in full country cosplay, he's shooting a little too straight".[20] In a review for Consequence, Mary Siroky wrote that "F-1 Trillion is enjoyable because Post Malone came to have fun — and, more importantly, to commit fully to a genre he has clearly long enjoyed and admired. He did the work, and it paid off. The tunes are accessible and perfectly aligned with what so many people love about the genre, but if Malone continues in this vein, the things he should chase are those moments where his heart is totally on the line". Garvey opined that "most of the collaborations are solid" on the record, praising Dolly Parton's performance on "Have The Heart", while criticizing the song "Hide My Gun" and the opening track "Wrong Ones" for their lack of energy.[27] Ammar Kalia of The Observer described F-1 Trillion as "surprisingly enjoyable", while deeming it too long, "overly polished and missing the instrumental virtuosity central to the genre".[22]
Commercial performance
In the United States, F-1 Trillion debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart, earning 250,000 album-equivalent units, including 80,000 in pure album sales. With the deluxe edition included, the album's tracks earned a total of 212.86 million on-demand streams in its first week. It is Malone's third album to reach number one on the chart, and sixth album to reach the top-ten.[28] In the United Kingdom, the album debuted atop the UK Albums Chart, becoming Malone's third to debut at that position.[29] The album also topped the charts in Canada,[30] the Netherlands,[31] New Zealand[32] and Norway.[33]
All tracks produced by Louis Bell and Charlie Handsome, with "I Had Some Help", "Guy for That", and "Devil I've Been" also being additionally produced by Hoskins.
^"Czech Albums – Top 100". ČNS IFPI. Note: On the chart page, select 34.Týden 2024 on the field besides the words "CZ – ALBUMS – TOP 100" to retrieve the correct chart. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
