Post Malone
Photo: Adam DeGross
Post Malone wasn’t born in Texas, but, as the saying goes, he got here as fast as he could.
The man born Austin Post in Syracuse 28 years ago moved to Grapevine when he was nine — his father, Richard, got a job working with the Dallas Cowboys (to this day, he’s still the assistant director of food and beverage at AT&T Stadium). Post also studied at Tarrant County College briefly, but told Fader magazine in 2015, “I went to school for six months and wasn’t feeling the vibe.”
He co-wrote, produced, and recorded his debut single, “White Iverson,” not too longer afterward, and the rest is history.
Posty just dropped his latest album, Austin, at the end of July, and is in the process of wrapping up his evocatively titled tour — “If Y’all Weren’t Here, I’d Be Crying” — with a pair of shows on Saturday and Sunday near his old stomping grounds at the sure-to-be-sweltering Dos Equis Pavilion in Dallas’ Fair Park.
His new record is being hailed as a departure (and a pronounced maturation) for the singer-songwriter, who, with more than 80 million albums sold to date, didn’t necessarily need to tweak the formula. Here is a look back at his four (to date) number one singles, and how he’s evolved from the beginning of his career to now.
“Rockstar” featuring 21 Savage
Taken from his sophomore album, 2018’s Beerbongs & Bentleys, “Rockstar” is an unlikely chart-topping hit, given its mildly sinister, cynical lyrics — hearing Post Malone namecheck Bon Scott and Jim Morrison alongside dismissive depictions of fame-hungry groupies gives the track an anxious, bitter edge.
“Psycho” featuring Ty Dolla $ign
The second number one single from Beerbongs & Bentleys — and, arguably, probably the first and last number one hit to namecheck former Dallas Cowboys QB Tony Romo — “Psycho” is another mid-tempo Posty jam which finds him rapping and singing in near-equal measure, once more lamenting the onset of fame and fortune.
“Sunflower” featuring Swae Lee
This track, featured on the soundtrack to 2019’s “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” hints at the brighter, poppier direction Post Malone would head after the grim theatrics of Beerbongs & Bentleys. The gleaming blend of Malone and Lee’s vocals is irresistible.
“Circles”
For his third album, 2019’s Hollywood’s Bleeding, Post Malone finally achieved a number one hit all on his own: “Circles,” unlike his previous trio of number one singles, doesn’t feature anyone but him. It’s a plaintive ode to a crumbling (or crumbled) relationship, and one which sonically feints in the direction of both yacht rock and deep house.
Post Malone at Dos Equis Pavilion, Dallas. 8 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. Tickets are $107-$1,558.
Preston Jones is a North Texas freelance writer and regular contributor to KXT. Email him at [email protected] or find him on Twitter (@prestonjones). Our work is made possible by our generous, music-loving members. If you like how we lift up local music, consider becoming a KXT sustaining member right here.
