When Celeb Secrets first met Preston Cooper back at CRS earlier this year, we called him country music’s next big thing. Now, just months later, the 22-year-old is proving us right.
Once known as “The Singing Mailman” in his hometown of Fredericktown, Ohio, Cooper has gone from delivering letters on foot to delivering some of the most powerful vocals in country music. His debut album Toledo Talkin’ (The Valory Music Co.) arrives today (August 29), and for Cooper, the release is nothing short of a dream come true.
“Grateful. That’s the first word that comes to mind,” he tells Celeb Secrets host Juliet Schroder in an exclusive interview. “I’m very grateful to be able to do this and just put out a piece of art that I’ve created. It’s just so cool.”
Before the tours, before the studio sessions, and before Nashville, Cooper was a U.S. Postal Service worker who walked up to 14 miles a day with a voice recorder tucked into his bag. He’d sing as he delivered mail, slowly building a reputation around town as “The Singing Mailman.” At night, he played small acoustic gigs across Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan.
“It’s been a whirlwind, honestly,” Cooper reflects in a statement. “I’m from a small town and I worked a 9-5 at the post office, and I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to move to Nashville or not. This album is mostly about me moving away and just taking a chance — and now? I’ve gone from the bar down the street to the next state, to the country, and hopefully on to the world.”
That leap of faith paid off. Hit-making Nashville duo The Warren Brothers discovered Cooper during a songwriter’s round in Toledo, drawn to his gravelly, soul-rich voice and blue-collar work ethic. Under their guidance, Cooper began writing, recording, and finding his footing as a bona fide artist.
“I had a really good job at the post office and I quit to do music, and that was kind of scary at the time,” he admits. “But that’s really what this album is about — moving, taking chances, and just jumping in.”
The debut LP was cut the old-school way: live, with a full band in the room. Over the course of a year, Cooper and The Warren Brothers wrote around 20 songs, eventually whittling them down to the final 12. Incredibly, they tracked eight of those in a single day.
“It was wild,” Cooper laughs. “We went in the studio and actually cut eight of them in one day. Then we just started putting vocals on them, and that’s how it rolled. It was pretty quick, actually.”
For Cooper, authenticity was key. Instead of polished Nashville production, he leaned on the sounds he grew up with — blues, rock, and the country radio hits of his youth.
“I grew up listening to Bob Seger, Stevie Ray Vaughan, BB King… a lot of blues. And I think it’s almost like that Memphis sound,” he says. “I just wanted it to sound authentic and very me. It’s real people playing real instruments. It’s not electronic at all, just straight-up pressing the red button with a band — and I think it really stands out.”
The result is a project that feels both timeless and deeply personal, a balance of grit and grace that showcases a new voice in country music ready for the big stage.
The album’s debut single “Weak” is already proving to be Cooper’s breakout, climbing the country charts and recently breaking into the Top 40. The song was also the first thing he ever wrote in Nashville.
“That song has always been special,” he shares. “It means so much because I think everybody has a person in their life that they truly care about. It’s a very emotional song, and that line, ‘You and Jesus, get me where I need to be’ — I think that’s really important.”
Other songs on Toledo Talkin’ are equally rooted in real life. “The Takedown,” written with Brett Warren, came from the difficult transition of leaving home to pursue his dream.
“When I moved to Nashville, it was kind of hard. I didn’t have a lot of friends, and I was playing tons of gigs,” he explains. “But to focus on what I wanted to do in the music business, I had to take some photos down and just kind of… not forget about where I came from, but put a hundred percent of my energy into Nashville. And Brett was like, ‘That’s a great idea — The Take Down.’”
“If This Table Could Talk” was inspired by his family’s dining room table, filled with generations of memories, while “Numbers On A Mailbox” reflects on knowing where you belong. And then there’s “Headed Home,” which Cooper says hits hardest when played live.
“‘Headed Home’ is really cool,” he says. “It’s got a lot of hope in that song, especially in the lyrics. Because I’m a believer, and I think a lot of people really take that in. Musically and lyrically, it just hits different.”
From the mail routes of Ohio to touring with Riley Green and Kameron Marlowe, Cooper’s rise has been anything but ordinary. He still shakes his head when he hears his own song on the radio.
“It’s pretty wild,” he admits. “Going home to my hometown and hearing it on 92.3 is crazy. I mean, I just grew up listening to the radio and now my song’s playing on there regularly every day.”
But as surreal as it all feels, Cooper is focused on the long game.
“This era is just me getting started,” he says. “I want to keep playing live shows, writing great songs, and making music that’s real and authentic. Hopefully it inspires young musicians the way Chris Stapleton inspired me.”
With a debut album built on raw honesty, powerhouse vocals, and the kind of grit only a small-town kid can bring, Preston Cooper isn’t just introducing himself with Toledo Talkin’ — he’s laying the foundation for a career that could define the next era of country music.
For more on Preston Cooper and his music, make sure to watch our full interview below — and don’t forget to let us know if you’re loving the new album by either leaving a reaction at the bottom of the post or by sliding into our DMs on Instagram at @celebsecretscountry.
Interview quotes have been edited and condensed for clarity.
