TMN Data Dive: How ‘rockstar’ opened the gates for the Post Malone revolution

Post Malone’s story is somewhat of a fairytale. Real name Austin Richard Post, the rapper’s music journey dates back to his teenage years when he stumbled across a randomly generated stage name that took his fancy. Since then, the rapper has been etched into mainstream music culture as he continues to become one of the strongest forces in the world of hip-hop.

It all started in 2015 when Malone wrote his first ever solo track - ‘White Iverson’ - after meeting production team FKi and being introduced to Rex Kudo, recording and uploading the track to his SoundCloud account only days after. With no record deal in place, Malone relied solely on the power of streaming, registering one million views on YouTube within a month of releasing the music video. Malone was fast building momentum and pricking the ears of label executives.

Fast forward to 2018, the rapper is a key player on the Republic/Universal roster with a firm grip on the ARIA, Spotify, iTunes, Shazam and commercial airplay charts in Australia. Latest single ‘I Fall Apart’- the sixth single off his 2016 debut album Stoney - is currently peaking at #2 on the TMN Hot 100 airplay chart, exceeding the heights of 2x ARIA Platinum single ‘rockstar’ ft. 21 Savage, a pre-released cut off Malone’s upcoming second studio album Beerbongs & Bentleys.

With the five previous Stoney cuts achieving moderate commercial success, ‘I Fall Apart’ is pushing Malone above and beyond the rest, and it’s all due to timing. In fact, Shazam data gives us more of an insight into how Malone is building his empire on the shoulders of the success of ‘rockstar’.

Shazam engagement spiked in the months following the release of ‘rockstar’ in July 2017. Malone recorded 63,749 Shazams during August and September, just below the cumulative amount recorded in the entirety of 2016. His presence grew even further from there on, amassing 426,922 Shazams over the next three months and hitting the top of the Australian Shazam chart.

Affection for Malone was evident across the major consumption charts (i.e Spotify, iTunes), and radio was quick to join the party - marking the first time CHR was willing to take a convincing gamble on the artist. ‘Congratulations’ ft. Quavo came close to breaking through in June 2017 when the Nova Network added the track, but the song failed to muster enough traction across the big three networks. ‘rockstar’ had all the characteristics of a radio hit - a hazy melodic chorus paired with the power of a booming commercial genre - and it wasn’t long before Malone was "feeling just like a rockstar".  

With the track burgeoning on the commercial landscape, the door was wide open for another single to take the reins. Seldom do artists unearth new singles from an album once releasing new content. However, in Malone’s case, the decision to revert back to 2016’s Stoney was inventive and profound, allowing ‘I Fall Apart’ to piggyback on the success of its predecessor and extend Malone’s stay in the charts for months to come.

‘I Fall Apart’ is now the new benchmark single for Malone, achieving more than ’rockstar’ in a shorter time period. It’s at #1 on the Spotify and Shazam charts in Australia, and reached the top spot on TMN’s Artist Top 50 - a unique chart combining airplay, digital sales and streaming. With more strong commercial cuts expected off Beerbongs & Bentleys when it finally hits shelves later this year, Post Malone is well positioned to dominate the Year-End charts in 2018.