Thomas Rhett has righted a honky-tonk wrong with Niall Horan by enlisting him to sing on a new version of “Old Tricks.”
“Old Tricks” was originally a duet with Blake Shelton recorded for the deluxe edition of Rhett’s 2024 album, About a Woman (out today, Oct. 17). Rhett happened to co-write “Old Tricks” (and much of About a Woman) with two of Horan’s closest friends and collaborators, the songwriters/producers Julian Bunetta and John Ryan, who’ve worked with Horan on his solo music, as well as numerous One Direction albums.
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In a statement, Horan said he was in the studio with Bunetta when he “accidentally” heard “Old Tricks” for the first time. “It came on and I was instantly hooked,” Horan said. “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.”
Rhett, for his part, said, “We’d talked about doing something together for a long time, but I never imagined it would be this song.” He went on to reveal that Horan confronted him about the inadvertent sleight when they reunited at the Masters golf tournament earlier this year.
“[O]ut of nowhere Niall goes, ‘I’m so mad you didn’t ask me to sing on “Old Tricks,’” Rhett said. “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 [through The Voice], 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.”
Of jumping on the song, Horan said, “It felt easy, natural, like it was always meant to happen. I’m buzzing for people to finally hear.”
While Rhett and Horan’s version of “Old Tricks” is available as a loose single, the version with Shelton is one of nine new songs on the deluxe edition of About a Woman. The expanded LP also features a new collaboration with Jordan Davis, “Ain’t a Bad Life.”
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