TheWesternGuide Teams Up with Kaylee Bell on ‘Truth I Keep’
Samoan-New Zealand country artist TheWesternGuide (Aaron Pulemagafa) opens up about love, secrets and acceptance in his new single, Truth I Keep, featuring one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most well-known country artists, Kaylee Bell.
The vulnerable track explores the fear of sharing your past with someone you love, and the hope that they will accept both who you were and who you’ve become.
Pulemagafa says he found themes of the past and acceptance common in many love stories, and in the lives of people around him. This led to him thinking about the secrets people hide to protect a relationship.
“I think everyone has things in their past that they’re not necessarily proud of. You start wondering, if I told this person, what would they think of me? That was the feeling I wanted to capture with Truth I Keep,” he says.
The single starts from a place of fear and uncertainty, before Kaylee Bell’s verse shifts the tone towards acceptance. Bell, whose tour Pulemagafa supported in his early career, says she has long admired his songwriting and musical talent.
“From seeing Aaron open for me on the Cowboy Up tour in 2025 to now being on this track with him is such a special moment. He has a beautiful voice, and it’s great to add to his depth of storytelling and help tell this intricate, tragically beautiful love story,” says Bell.
Truth I Keep arrives as Pulemagafa builds towards the release of his debut album, Poviboy. Produced by Christian Tjandrawinata and Jeremiah “Hales” Fale, the album explores themes of identity, self-discovery and community. It marks a new chapter as he continues to delve into the country genre.
“I love the storytelling side of country music. You can take your thoughts, experiences and feelings and turn them into a song, and sometimes it’s easier to sing about those things than to say them face to face,” Pulemagafa says.
TheWesternGuide continues to build momentum across Aotearoa, Australia and beyond, embracing the opportunity to tell his stories his own way and carve out space for himself in the country music landscape.
Truth I Keep is made with the support of NZ On Air and is available now on all streaming platforms.
