From Homework Help to Harmonies: Blake Shelton and Thomas Rhett Team Up for New Duet
By Website Content Manager
Listen to their brand-new song, “Old Tricks.”
Thomas Rhett’s friendship with Blake Shelton stretches back many years, but their early bond wasn’t rooted in music. Long before they ever shared a recording booth, Shelton once attempted to help a young Rhett with his schoolwork — though it didn’t exactly go as planned.
In an earlier interview with Willie Geist on Sunday TODAY, Rhett reflected on his unique childhood as the son of country star Rhett Akins. Growing up, he frequently found himself surrounded by Nashville’s biggest names, including Shelton. Now, years later, things have come full circle, with Rhett not only opening for Shelton on tour but also recording a duet with him.
“Looking back now, it’s wild to think I’m sharing a stage with Blake when, a decade ago, he was trying to help me with my homework,” Rhett said with a laugh.
When Geist asked if Shelton had tutoring talents, Rhett joked, “Not really.”
While Shelton may not have excelled at schoolwork, their new collaboration, “Old Tricks,” proves the two artists make a great team when it comes to music.
The duet, a humorous and relatable take on life’s familiar lessons, is featured on Rhett’s latest release, ABOUT A WOMAN (& A Good Ol’ Boy) — a follow-up EP to his seventh studio album, which dropped earlier this year.
“Old Tricks,” co-written by Rhett along with Andrew Haas, Ian Franzino, Jim Beavers, John Ryan, and Julian Bunetta, serves up a lively, toe-tapping anthem that perfectly captures a laid-back summer vibe meant to last year-round.
The duo of country superstars join forces on a lighthearted yet honest track that tackles the realities of aging and coming to terms with the idea that their younger years might’ve been their prime. Thomas Rhett kicks off the song reflecting on how hangovers hit harder now and how bouncing back isn’t as easy as it once was. Blake Shelton chimes in with his own take, humorously admitting that the moves that once caught women’s attention no longer seem to have the same effect.
“The main hook of the song is, ‘My old tricks don’t work anymore,’” Rhett explained during a conversation with Kelleigh Bannen on Apple Music. “Back in college, I could drink 10 beers a day, no problem, and wake up ready to go again. Now, it takes me two days just to recover from that. Blake comes in on the second verse, and in true Blake fashion, he took the song to another level—it just made it that much better.”
As their authentic country voices blend seamlessly on the chorus, the pair acknowledge that all the warnings they used to dismiss about growing older are finally catching up with them. They both realize their carefree, wild twenty-something days are officially in the rearview mirror.
They sing together on the 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 / My old ways ain’t workin’ for me / Sometimes I still wake up and think I’m 23 / All my elders used to tell me this would happen for sure / Now my old tricks (don’t work anymore).”
At the close of the song, Rhett jokingly asks Shelton, “We ain’t gettin’ any younger, are we?” to which Shelton responds with a playful agreement, bringing the track to a charming and relatable finish.