Malone began his music career in 2011 and gained recognition with his 2015 debut single "White Iverson", which peaked at number 14 on the US Billboard Hot 100. Malone signed a recording contract with Republic Records and released his debut album Stoney; it contained the diamond single "Congratulations" (featuring Quavo) and set the record for most weeks (77) on the US Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. His second album, beerbongs & bentleys, debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 and set several streaming records. It also contained the US number-one singles "Rockstar" (featuring 21 Savage) and "Psycho" (featuring Ty Dolla Sign) and was nominated for Album of the Year at the 61st Grammy Awards.
His third number one, "Sunflower" (with Swae Lee), was the promotional and lead single to the soundtrack for the film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, and was included on Malone's third album, Hollywood's Bleeding; the album was his second number one. Its second single, "Circles", reached number one and set the record for most weeks (39) in the top ten on the Hot 100. His fourth album, Twelve Carat Toothache, was released in June 2022, spearheaded by the US top-ten singles "I Like You (A Happier Song)" (featuring Doja Cat) and "One Right Now" (with The Weeknd).
Among the best-selling music artists with over 80 million records sold, Malone has won 10 Billboard Music Awards, three American Music Awards, and one MTV Video Music Award, and received nine Grammy Award nominations. He holds several Billboard chart records: he is the first solo artist to top the Rap Airplay and Adult Contemporary charts, while "Circles" set the record for the longest climb to number one (41 weeks) on the Adult Contemporary chart by a solo artist.
Austin Richard Post was born on July 4, 1995, in Syracuse, New York. He was raised by his father, Richard Post, and his stepmother, Jodie. His father had been a DJ in his youth and introduced Malone to many different genres of music including hip-hop, country, and rock. When Malone was nine years old, he and his family moved to Grapevine, Texas, after his father became the manager of concessions for the Dallas Cowboys. Malone began to play the guitar and auditioned for the American band Crown the Empire in 2010, but was rejected after his guitar strings broke during the audition. He credited his initial interest in learning guitar to the video game Guitar Hero.
Malone has always had a love for alternative rock music, and appeared for a DJ set at Emo Nite in Los Angeles, California, in June 2017, playing songs by American alt-rock band My Chemical Romance at the event. According to Malone, his first foray into professional music began when he was in a heavy metal band. He says soon afterward he transitioned to softer rock as well as hip-hop, before beginning to experiment on FL Studio.
According to Malone, he chose "Post Malone" as his stage name when he was 14 or 15. The name was rumored to be a reference to the professional basketball player Karl Malone, but Malone later explained that "Post" is his last name, and he used a "rap name generator" to get "Malone". At 16, using the audio editor Audacity, Malone created his first mixtape, Young and After Them Riches. He showed it to some of his classmates at Grapevine High School. He was voted "Most Likely to Become Famous" by his classmates as a senior in high school. He worked at a Chicken Express as a teenager.
Malone later enrolled in Tarrant County College but dropped out. After leaving college, Malone moved to Los Angeles, California, with his longtime friend Jason Probst, a professional game streamer.
After moving to Los Angeles, Malone, Probst, and several other producers and artists formed the music group BLCKVRD and recorded music together. Several members of the group, including Malone, moved into a house in Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley together. While living in the San Fernando Valley, Malone met record producers FKi 1st and Sauce Lord Rich, who formed the production team FKi, as well as Rex Kudo, who produced several of Malone's tracks, including "White Iverson". Malone recorded the song two days after writing it. The lyrics of "White Iverson" allude to Basketball Hall of Fame player Allen Iverson. In February 2015, upon completion, it was uploaded to Malone's SoundCloud account. On July 19, 2015, Malone released a music video for "White Iverson".
After hitting one million views within a month of releasing "White Iverson", Malone quickly garnered attention from record labels. In August 2015, he signed a recording contract with Republic Records. Malone went on to work with a number of prominent rappers including 50 Cent, Young Thug, Kanye West, and others. In August 2015, he performed at Kylie Jenner's 18th birthday party, where he met Kanye West, who enjoyed his music, leading to him collaborating with Malone on his single "Fade" from his album The Life of Pablo. Malone later began a friendship with Canadian singer Justin Bieber leading to Malone being an opening act for Bieber's Purpose World Tour (2016–17). On April 20, 2016, Malone premiered his new single, "Go Flex" on Zane Lowe's Beats 1 show.
On May 12, 2016, he released his first full-length project, a mixtape, titled August 26th, the title of which was a reference to the release date of his debut album. On June 9, 2016, Malone made his national television debut on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, performing "Go Flex".
In June 2016, XXL editor-in-chief Vanessa Satten revealed Malone was considered for XXL's "2016 Freshman Class" magazine cover, but she was "told by his camp that he wasn't paying attention to hip hop so much. He was going in more of a rock/pop/country direction." However, Malone denied these claims, explaining that his latest mixtape, as well as his album, were both hip-hop. In August 2016, Malone issued an apology for his album, Stoney, being late. It was available for pre-order on November 4 and was finally released on December 9. Malone later went on to call the album "mediocre", despite the success of the single "Congratulations" featuring Quavo, Malone's first top-ten song on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number eight. Stoney also featured the top 100 hits "I Fall Apart", and "Deja Vu", featuring Bieber, with the album later being certified double platinum by the RIAA in October 2017.
In February 2017, Malone revealed the title of his next project, beerbongs & bentleys, and was set to be released in December, before eventually being pushed back to 2018. In September, Malone released the first single from the album, "Rockstar", featuring 21 Savage. The song peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and held the spot for eight consecutive weeks prompting Rolling Stone in 2017 to say he is "one of the most popular musicians in the country". In November of the same year, Malone released the official music video for "Rockstar", directed by Emil Nava.
On February 20, 2018, Malone previewed his new song with Ty Dolla Sign titled "Psycho". "Psycho" was released on February 23, 2018, and a tour with 21 Savage was announced. The song debuted at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Malone's third entry in the top 10; it would later top the charts in June of that year, becoming Malone's second number one. On April 5, 2018, Malone stated that Beerbongs & Bentleys will be released on April 27, 2018. The same day, he also premiered the song "Stay" during the Bud Lite Dive Bar show in Nashville. Upon release, Beerbongs & Bentleys broke the first-day streaming records on Spotify, with 78.7 million streams worldwide. It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 moving 461,000 album-equivalent units in its first week, with 153,000 coming from pure sales. The album was also certified platinum by the RIAA after four days and spawned three top 10 songs and six top 20 songs.
In an interview with Billboard in May 2018, Malone's manager announced that Malone was planning to start his own record label and film production company and Malone later won Top Rap Song at the Billboard Music Awards for "Rockstar" featuring 21 Savage. Malone confirmed in June 2018 that he was writing his third album, and confirmed that a festival would be taking place, organized by him, titled "Posty Fest", in Dallas, Texas on October 28. Malone promised a "blockbuster" lineup with headliners like rapper Travis Scott.
In August, Malone broke Michael Jackson's 34-year-old record for most weeks on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, with Stoney reaching its 77th week on the ranking compared to the 76 weeks that Thriller spent. A collaboration album with rapper Mac Miller was also teased in August 2018. During his appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, he previewed his song "Sunflower", a collaboration with Swae Lee, from the soundtrack to the film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. In November 2018, it was confirmed Malone was recording his third album in his Utah home.
Malone was nominated for 4 awards at the 61st Grammy Awards for his album beerbongs & bentleys. Among the nominations was Album of the Year and Record of the Year. He performed with the Red Hot Chili Peppers at the awards show on February 10, 2019.
In July 2019, Malone released the single "Goodbyes" featuring Young Thug and also announced the Runaway Tour with Swae Lee as the opener. On August 5, Malone shared a snippet of an unreleased track "Circles" on YouTube. He then performed the song at his second annual Bud Light: Dive Bar concert and confirmed that the official song would be released the following week. That same day and on July 25, 2019, at Cheyenne Frontier Days he announced the album was finished. He released the song on August 30, 2019. He confirmed that his third studio album would be released on September 6, 2019. On August 26, 2019, Malone announced on Twitter that his third album was called Hollywood's Bleeding and would be released on September 6, 2019. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 489,000 album-equivalent units in its first week. Hollywood's Bleeding would also go on to be nominated for Album of the Year at the 63rd Grammys.
On March 12, 2020, Malone's concert at Denver's Pepsi Center proceeded as scheduled, drawing a sellout crowd of 20,000, likely the last large-scale enclosed gathering in the U.S. before COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns. Malone received backlash for not canceling his sold-out arena show amid rising concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic. Reportedly, future U.S. tour dates in March were postponed by Live Nation on March 12, 2020.
On April 24, 2020, Malone announced that a new album was in progress during a live stream performance. In late April 2020, Malone performed a live-streamed set consisting entirely of Nirvana covers from his home. Malone sang lead vocals and provided rhythm guitar for the set. He was accompanied by drummer Travis Barker, bassist Brian Lee and lead guitarist Nick Mac. The performance raised over $5 million for the World Health Organization's COVID-19 relief fund. The performance also received praise from Nirvana's surviving members Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl, as well as Kurt Cobain's widow Courtney Love.
In June 2020, Malone was featured on Tyla Yaweh's single, "Tommy Lee". The single was followed up with a remix, released July 10, 2020, featuring drums from Tommy Lee himself, as well as a re-recorded guitar instrumental. A second remix to the song, featuring rapper Saint Jhn, was released subsequently. On April 30, 2021, Malone was featured on DJ Khaled's twelfth studio album Khaled Khaled on the song "I Did It" also featuring DaBaby, Megan Thee Stallion, and Lil Baby.
On July 9, 2021, Malone released the single "Motley Crew" with an accompanying music video, featuring several guest stars, past collaborators, and friends including Tommy Lee, Tyga, Tyla Yaweh, and his manager Dre London. The music video was directed by Cole Bennett of Lyrical Lemonade. On November 5, Malone released "One Right Now" with the Weeknd, as the lead single from his fourth studio album. On January 26, 2022, during his cover story will Billboard, Malone revealed that his fourth studio album would be titled Twelve Carat Toothache. In April 2022, Republic Records relaunched Mercury Records with a new roster that includes Post Malone. On April 27, 2022, Post revealed that Twelve Carat Toothache would be released on June 3, 2022. Malone released the album's second single, "Cooped Up" with Roddy Ricch, on May 12, 2022.
On May 14, 2022, he appeared as a musical guest on Saturday Night Live and performed "Cooped Up" with Ricch, as well as an unreleased song titled "Love/Hate Letter to Alcohol", in which he was joined by Fleet Foxes. Malone had previously confirmed that he had worked with Fleet Foxes frontman Robin Pecknold on a song for the album.
For the 2022 Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers film, Malone covered the theme song from the 1989 television series of the same name, originally performed by Jeff Pescetto in the series and by The Jets in album releases.
On August 12, 2022, the documentary film Runaway premiered on the Amazon Prime Video channel Freevee. It showed behind-the-scenes moments from the first leg of the Runaway Tour in 2019, as well as performances from some of the highlighted dates, such as New York City, Chicago, and the 2019 Posty Fest in Arlington.
In April 2023, Malone announced that he was working on a new album. On April 14, 2023, Malone released "Chemical", as the lead single from his fifth studio album AUSTIN. On April 21, 2023, Malone released The Diamond Collection, a nine-song compilation of his record-breaking eight RIAA Diamond-certified singles, along with the single "Chemical".
Malone cites Bob Dylan, in whom he became interested around the age of 15, as an influence on his music, calling him "a genius" and "a god" though his music has been called "about as far away from Rock n' Roll as you can get". He called "Subterranean Homesick Blues" the "first rap song". He has a tattoo of Dylan as well. Malone has cited Kurt Cobain and Johnny Cash as key influences too. Malone has also cited 50 Cent, whom he called a legend, Kanye West and Key! as influences.
when i'm alone
Post Malone Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Always, again
I'm bleedin' out, I need you now
Can't let you win
I want it all, I want it all
I push so hard, I break it
My only home went down in smoke
It's bittersweet, I taste it
So why you lonely?
'Cause I'm healin' slowly
In a moment, your memory is fadin' on me
Got no expectations now that I'm forsaken
See what I'm made of, find out if I can take it now
When I'm alone, pretend I'm lettin' you go
Just tell me who to blame for this
When wakin' up feels like a punch in the gut
Just tell me, who's to blame for this?
All I wanted was a piece of decent on the side (on the side)
When we go to bed, she be creepin' on my side (on my side)
I was drinkin' all day, I let her spend the night
When I took her home, she left somethin' in my ride, in my ride (damn)
Then my baby found out
Now I'm livin' in a hotel, livin' in a hotel
Ain't that bad, I got room service
Livin' in a hotel, livin' in a hotel
What your life like? Need a lifeline right now
Ninety-nine nights, tryna get my mind right now
Life is sour, even when I'm in the limelight now
But I try somehow
When I'm alone, pretend I'm lettin' you go
Just tell me who to blame for this
When wakin' up feels like a punch in the gut
Just tell me, who's to blame for this?
(Da-da-da, da-da-da, da-da-da, da-da)
Tell me who's to blame for this
(Da-da-da, da-da-da)
Tell me who's to blame for this (da-da-da, da-da)
Tell me who?
(Da-da-da, da-da-da, da-da-da, da-da)
(Da-da-da, da-da-da, da-da-da, da-da)
The lyrics of Post Malone's song "When I'm Alone" suggest a complex emotional journey. The song seems to revolve around a broken relationship and the internal struggle the singer is facing. The opening lines indicate a pact or agreement made between the singer and their partner, suggesting a promise to reconcile in difficult times. However, despite this agreement, the singer feels alone and is bleeding emotionally, indicating a need for their partner's support.
The singer expresses a desire for it all, pushing themselves to the limit, but ultimately breaking under the pressure. Their "only home" is metaphorically described as going down in smoke, signifying a loss or destruction which leaves a bitter and lingering taste. This could be referring to the collapse of their relationship or a personal setback. The repeated question of "why you lonely?" suggests the singer questioning the absence of their partner's companionship as they slowly heal from the pain.
The second verse introduces a different perspective, seemingly switching to a different relationship. The singer shares an experience of cheating or being involved with someone else on the side. They describe how their significant other found out, resulting in them living in a hotel. Despite this new living situation, the singer somewhat contently states that it's not that bad because they have room service.
Throughout the song, there is a consistent theme of blame. The chorus repeatedly asks who to blame for the singer's current state of emotional turmoil and disappointment. It seems they are searching for answers and trying to understand the reasons behind their pain.
Overall, "When I'm Alone" explores themes of loneliness, heartbreak, and the search for accountability. It delves into the complexities of relationships, the consequences of actions, and the struggles of self-reflection and healing.
Line by Line Meaning
We made a pact you'd take me back
We had an agreement that you would forgive me and give our relationship another chance
Always, again
Continuously, repeatedly
I'm bleedin' out, I need you now
I'm emotionally hurting and desperately need your presence and support
Can't let you win
I cannot allow you to have control or power over me
I want it all, I want it all
I desire to have everything I desire and aspire for
I push so hard, I break it
I exert so much effort and force that I end up destroying what I am trying to achieve
My only home went down in smoke
The place where I felt safe and comfortable was destroyed
It's bittersweet, I taste it
It's a mixture of pleasure and pain, and I can feel it
So why you lonely?
Why do you feel isolated and alone?
'Cause I'm healin' slowly
Because I am recovering and getting better at a slow pace
In a moment, your memory is fadin' on me
Gradually, the memory of you is disappearing from my mind
Got no expectations now that I'm forsaken
I no longer have any hopes or expectations since I have been abandoned
See what I'm made of, find out if I can take it now
Witness my true strength and resilience as you discover if I can endure it
When I'm alone, pretend I'm lettin' you go
When I am by myself, I try to convince myself that I am releasing you from my thoughts and emotions
Just tell me who to blame for this
Simply inform me who should be held responsible for causing this situation
When wakin' up feels like a punch in the gut
When waking up in the morning feels emotionally painful and distressing
Just tell me, who's to blame for this?
Inform me, who should be held accountable for causing this agony?
All I wanted was a piece of decent on the side (on the side)
All I desired was a small amount of comfort or satisfaction as a secondary option
When we go to bed, she be creepin' on my side (on my side)
When we sleep together, she invades my personal space and crosses boundaries
I was drinkin' all day, I let her spend the night
I was consuming alcohol throughout the day, and I allowed her to stay overnight
When I took her home, she left somethin' in my ride, in my ride (damn)
When I dropped her off at her place, she unintentionally left something in my vehicle, which annoyed me
Then my baby found out
Afterward, my partner discovered the truth
Now I'm livin' in a hotel, livin' in a hotel
Currently, I am residing in a hotel instead of having a stable home
Ain't that bad, I got room service
It's not too terrible, since I have the convenience of room service
What your life like? Need a lifeline right now
How is your life going? I am in need of assistance or support at this moment
Ninety-nine nights, tryna get my mind right now
For countless nights, I have been attempting to regain control of my thoughts and emotions
Life is sour, even when I'm in the limelight now
Life feels unpleasant, even when I am in the center of attention and success
But I try somehow
Nevertheless, I continue to make an effort
(Da-da-da, da-da-da, da-da-da, da-da)
Tell me who's to blame for this
Inform me, who should be held responsible for causing this situation
(Da-da-da, da-da-da)
Tell me who's to blame for this (da-da-da, da-da)
Inform me, who should be held accountable for causing this?
Tell me who?
Please, tell me
(Da-da-da, da-da-da, da-da-da, da-da)
(Da-da-da, da-da-da, da-da-da, da-da)
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Austin Richard Post, Billy Walsh, Louis Russell Bell
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Hustle and Joe
My favorite song in the entire album! When I’m ALONE. Currently alone in my car rn, outside my job, listening to this on full blast, & honestly in tears as I sing along to this song, the album, circles, etc; thx post Malone! Your music is therapeutic for me🙏🏾 Music seems to hit differently when you’re really going through something & this one definitely got to me! Truth is I’ve been struggling with my mental health/ anxiety/ & depression. Just turned 30 & feeling behind in life. Unsure about my future, feeling stuck in life & not knowing what’s the next step for me, not sure what I’m going to do career wise, financially unstable, etc. Many of my friends seem to have it all figured out; they’re in their careers, getting married getting their 1st apartment/ house, making moves..while I’m feeling behind & trying to figure things out. But I need to remind myself to fight those thoughts in my head. Wanted to encourage anyone else out there struggling, that you are not alone & not behind in life. We’re all on our own journeys & our own pace. Just take things day by day & keep moving forward! Honestly struggling, but I’m not gunna give up!🔥😤 I’ve let myself go for too long. Going to work on myself & press on! Going to work on my health & fitness, improve on my mental health, figure out this career thing, pursue those things I loved that I stopped doing, give youtube another shot!, & work towards my goals, again! I hope to look back at this comment in the future while listening to this exact song & see how far I’ve come. To anyone reading this, never give up, let’s keep going💪🏾 Sending positive vibes to you all! 💯
Nicole Buntyn
Right back at you!! We all need each other a lot more than we care to realize!! Good luck to you and your future endeavors
Vivek Mehta
Thank you brother, after hearing ur problems, I realised that mine are literally nothing compared to you. wish u luck, keep struggling and one day u will get rewarded.
Kalvin Wui
You not alone my brother. Life is good so keep living up your life. GOD never left us behind.
andres triana
Bro thank you for share your thoughts and perspective in life, you're completely right we have to keep moving to attach what we want. Positive Vibes 4ever
Townzen Smith
open that new door, u will find it
CUTUWAY
Posty’s music is like a drug, just can’t get enough of it!
Alan Kenzo Dunne
Me too Pal best drug and too b honest I've had most thank God I'm back on track lots of love too all the Posty clan Posty family love from Ireland 🇮🇪 ❤
Sam
@Alan Kenzo Dunne much love to you too brother
Dan Bradley
Agree 💯👍