You might not necessarily know it from his time in One Direction or his three solo albums, but Niall Horan loves him some country music. For proof just look to a surprise single the former boy bander dropped on Friday morning (Oct. 17) with country star Thomas Rhett, a re-imagining of “Old Tricks,” a honky tonkin’ tune from the deluxe version of Rhett’s About a Woman album.
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The August 2024 original version of the album was joined by September’s issuing of a deluxe edition, which featured an “Old Tricks” duet with Blake Shelton. According to a release, the new pairing, “arose from Horan’s genuine affinity for the honky-tonk singalong, which led to a no-pressure, in-the-moment creative collaboration between friends that was quickly turned around for release.”
The refreshed version opens like the original, with Rhett singing, “Weekends used to be/ Two, three shots followed by a couple others/ Wake up, have a beer, never needed to recover/ A cold, red Gatorade and I’d feel great/ Now it’s a bottle of Advil and a whole next day,” before he sidles into the smooth-rolling chorus.
“My old tricks don’t work anymore/ They don’t get it done like they did before/ Yeah, the cold, hard truth is gettin’ harder to swallow/ I guess the younger me is a hard act to follow,” he sings as Horan moseys in for the second verse, with the pop star asking, “TR, you think that’s bad?” before busting into his Nashville-by-way-of-Ireland twangy brogue.
“Stupid jokes would make her laugh, compliments would make her smile/ Kisses on her neck always used to drive her wild/ All the things I used to do, I can’t get away with/ Like sayin’ golfin’ with the boys is a business trip,” Horan drawls, slipping in a reference to his favorite leisure past time by subbing out Shelton’s preference for “huntin’ with the boys” on the song that takes a cold, hard look at the ravages of time.
“Niall and I have been buddies for six or seven years now — anytime I’m over in the U.K. or he’s in Nashville, we always try to link up,” said Rhett in a statement. “We’d talked about doing something together for a long time, but I never imagined it would be this song. I was at the Masters this year and went to hang out with Niall and Noah Kahan, and out of nowhere Niall goes, ‘I’m so mad you didn’t ask me to sing on ‘Old Tricks.’’ I said, ‘Man, you were the last person I would’ve thought would even like this one!’ He kept texting me about it after and he knew all the words. With how fired up he was and his connection with Blake, it felt like a full-circle moment and turned into something really fun. I’m pumped it’s finally out there and hope y’all love it as much as we loved making it.”
Horan was equally effusive about teaming up with his old pal, adding, “I’ve known Thomas Rhett for years now, and every time we’re in the same city, we end up catching up like no time’s passed. I actually heard ‘Old Tricks’ by accident one day when I was in the studio with my friend and producer Julian Bunetta who was working on the song. It came on and I was instantly hooked. I told Thomas Rhett straight up I was gutted he didn’t ask me to jump on it. I just loved everything about it, it’s a proper country song. Next thing I know, I’m in the studio laying vocals down. It felt easy, natural, like it was always meant to happen. I’m buzzing for people to finally hear it.”
Horan has been busy with the Battle rounds on The Voice, while Rhett and wife Lauren announced in August that they are expecting their fifth child, who will join four older siblings: 9-year-old Willa Gray, 8-year-old Ada James, 5-year-old Lennon Love and 3-year-old Lillie Carolina.
Niall Horan, Thomas Rhett’s “Old Tricks”
Courtesy of The Valory Music Co.
Listen to “Old Tricks” below.
