In 2023, Post Malone made music history by being the first artist to have eight of his songs reach Diamond status, meaning he sold over ten million copies of each in the United States. The record was previously held by Bruno Mars, who currently has six Diamond singles himself. In February 2024, Post Malone once again made history by having the first ever Double Diamond song certified by RIAA with "Sunflower (feat. Swae Lee)". Since its release in 2018, the song has sold a record-breaking twenty million copies in the U.S. and its success has only continued to grow since its inclusion on the soundtrack for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and later his third album, Hollywood's Bleeding the following year. "Sunflower" rose to number one on the charts, making it Swae Lee's first and Post Malone's third time at number one. It ended up staying in the top ten for 33 weeks, at the time tying with "Girls Like You" by Maroon 5 & Cardi B and "Shape of You" by Ed Sheeran as the only other songs to ever do so. Post ended up breaking that record himself in 2019 with "Circles".
With him making history again, I thought this was the perfect time to do a ranking of these record-breaking eight singles and share my thoughts on each. They are all really great songs, but it truly is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the incredible music Post Malone has. Most of my favorite songs by him didn't even make it to this list yet, which feels like a testament to how strong his discography is. These may be his biggest songs, but this hardly scratches the surface of the smash hits he has released since his debut in 2016. I am looking forward to seeing this list continue to grow in the years to come! So much great new music I'm sure is still to come from him in the future!
8. "Psycho (feat. Ty Dolla Sign)"
"Psycho" is a subdued trap song, with a really catchy hook celebrating the luxuries he has been enjoying since finding wealth and success. It was his second number one single and Ty's first in 2017. While I do still like this song, beerbongs & bentleys has a lot of similar tracks that are a lot better than "Psycho" in my opinion.
7. "I Fall Apart"
"I Fall Apart" is a heartfelt and vulnerable performance by Post from his debut album Stoney. However, it's worth noting how much his vocals and quality of production have greatly improved since this point in his career. His recent performances of this song showcase how far he has come in his talents since the recording of the studio version in 2016. Even just comparing it to a song like "Stay", which was released about a year later, it is so evident how much his voice improved during that short time. It is quite different than a lot of the music he was making at the time, but gave a glimpse into the direction he would eventually start to go in with his later releases. "I Fall Apart" was actually never released as a single, but started to gain popularity after a clip of him performing it live in 2017 went viral.
6. "Sunflower (with Swae Lee)"
"Sunflower" is such a fun and uplifting track that had really great placement on the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse soundtrack, accompanied by the other inescapable hits from his album that followed, Hollywood's Bleeding. It perfectly captures the charisma of both Post and Swae Lee, they complement each other so well in this song. This was such a fun time in pop and hip-hop music that always transports me back to this era when I hear it. Part of me is surprised that this song is the biggest of them all, but at the same time I definitely see the mass appeal it has and think it is such a cute track!🌻
5. "Better Now"
"Better Now" has such an infectious hook that incorporates a wide range of musical influences and genres. I love the blend of pop, rock, and hip-hop all in one. The production is also so stellar on this song. It carries many of the same sentiments that "I Fall Apart" has, expressing his deepest feelings like, "I was so broken over you, life goes on, what can you do?" and later in the bridge, "I promise, I swear to you, I'll be okay, you're only the love of my life".
4. "White Iverson"
The song that started it all! He posted "White Iverson" to SoundCloud in early 2015 and became an overnight success. At just eighteen years old, fresh to Los Angeles and without the backing of a major record label - when he posted this song, it changed everything. It's been so cool to see how far he's come in the years to follow. It's so rare for an artist to achieve that level of success in such a short amount of time, and Posty is the prime example of an artist that was able to hit at the right place and right time. "White Iverson" exudes the confidence and determination that he was feeling when he was right on the brink of massive success.
3. "Congratulations (feat. Quavo)"
"Congratulations" is such a classic and still so much fun to listen to all these years later. The chorus is among one of the most memorable of the past decade in hip-hop. In 2016, it solidified him as one of the best up-and-coming voices in the genre. This song details everything that came after the success of "White Iverson" for him. It was such a fresh sound at the time and still holds up so well all these years later. "My mama called, said you on TV, son," he sings in the opening lines of the song, "I dreamed it all ever since I was young, they said I wouldn't be nothing, now they always say, 'Congratulations'. The song also features Quavo and is a great performance overall from both of them. It's one of the best songs from his debut album and also probably the first I ever heard by him!
The top three songs on this list are pretty much interchangeable in my eyes, I love all of them a lot and are among the best of his career!
2. "Circles"
"Circles" is such a great track and very different than many of the other Diamond songs on this list. It felt like the start of a new era in his artistry, where he began the full transition into the alternative pop and rock sound. I love every song off of Hollywood's Bleeding, it's always been one of my favorite albums by him and does a great job at blending all of his strengths from his first two records into one. It also really showcases his versatility as an artist. "Circles" is a timeless classic! It is so well written and addictive to listen to. It was really such a toss-up to put this in the number one spot!
1. "rockstar (feat. 21 Savage)"
"rockstar" was the lead single for Post's sophomore album beerbongs & bentleys and was also both his and 21 Savage's first number one song on the Billboard Hot 100. This song mentions all of the classic rockstar clichés very vividly, paired over a bass-heavy beat and a nonchalant vocal performance from both of them. I've always viewed this song as being more of a satire than a glorification of this lifestyle, but maybe it's a mix of both. It's fun, wild and reckless in all of the best ways!
Thanks for reading! I love so many of these songs and I didn't realize how hard it would be to rank them! I would also love to hear your ranking in the comment section below!
-Melissa ♡
Photo Credit: Post Malone, Republic Records
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