By Maribelle Gordon

A married couple next to me at Post Malone’s recent Madison Square Garden performance stood hopefully at the barricade of the stage with a sign that read “Let me play Stay?” The husband Ben had recently perfected the pop ballad from the singer’s sophomore album Beerbongs & Bentleys on the guitar and was hoping to join him onstage during his acoustic set.

This request wasn’t just one superfan’s pipe dream though. At a music festival this past July in Stockholm, Sweden, hip-hop and pop megastar Post Malone brought a fan onstage for a spontaneous collaboration after spotting a sign in the crowd that read “Can I play STAY for you?” Since then, the performer has brought fans onstage at several shows and entrusted them with playing this track on his own guitar.

In addition to bringing fans onstage during shows on a whim, Post has also developed a tradition at his concerts to stick around unprompted for up to half an hour to talk to fans and give out autographs. Having such a gracious attitude and unique bond with his fans is just one element of Post Malone’s recent image that has cast him as one of pop culture’s most likable figures. His humorous, bubbly, and down-to-earth presence on social media and in the press has made it next to impossible for the public to have anything negative to say about him, even people who don’t like his music.

Ironically, this sunshiny persona had its biggest emergence after the summer release of his fourth studio album “Twelve Carat Toothache” which tackles some very serious topics that the singer has only vaguely danced around in his previous work.

In Post Malone’s first few projects, his most prevalent themes focused on newfound stardom and glorified the unruly behavior that often comes with it. Most of the lyrics in these projects pertain to copious amounts of sex, drugs and alcohol, as well as reckless money spending, which are common topics in hip-hop music of the 2010s. While his first and second studio albums did some vague exploration of heavy topics like heartbreak and anxiety, these were definitely not the biggest contributing themes for these albums.

His third album, Hollywood’s Bleeding, took a deeper dive into some of the more depressing parts of fame and revolved around the pitfalls of a Hollywood lifestyle. The music itself was definitely commercialized, and to some critics, a little watered-down compared to his previous work that gave him such a unique and recognizable sound. The lyrics of “Hollywood’s Bleeding” tell the story of an artist who is trying to break free from mainstream culture and the false glamour of it all. The production, however, ultimately gave the album a mainstream and somewhat indistinct sound.

Along with losing some of his unique sound during the Hollywood’s Bleeding era, it seemed like the artist was also losing some of the personality that had started to define him during his Beerbongs era. During the Runaway tour in 2019 and 2020, fans began expressing deep concern over Post Malone’s behavior and demeanor onstage, many suspecting heavier drug use.

The worldwide quarantine came at the perfect time for the artist, giving him the opportunity to take a break from the lifestyle that seemed to be taking a toll on his physical and mental health. He took a hiatus from putting out music and for the most part, stayed out of the public’s eye.

He released a single in 2021 that raked in hundreds of millions of streams, but because it seemed to pander to an overdone style of hip-hop, it didn’t receive the same critical acclaim or praise from fans that he received on earlier work.

This past June, Post Malone released his fourth studio album which was a huge step in a new direction for the artist, both sonically and thematically. While his third album revealed some of the crushing flaws of Hollywood, Twelve Carat Toothache showed the world many of the artist’s own personal demons that he’s been fighting in his few years of fame. He broadcasts his struggles with alcohol abuse, depression, low self-esteem, and self-destructive habits.

There were definitely a few songs with a mainstream pop feel, like his collaboration with Doja Cat, but even these songs explored themes of love and connection that have not had a place in his work before.

Being able to explore more personal topics, both positive and negative, and showing more of his emotions in his music seems to have been extremely beneficial to Post Malone’s mental health and love for his career. Although many of the songs on Twelve Carat Toothache revolve around some of his recent and ongoing painful experiences, his energy in public appearances has completely shifted from the behavior that caused so many fans to be concerned for his health.

In most of his time as a public figure, Post Malone has stressed the importance of being true to oneself and doing what makes you happiest. Although it seemed like he started to lose touch with this personal mantra, it is evident that he has recently been able to practice what he preaches to his fans. His confidence in the art he creates and his exploration of personal identity through fashion and his appearance show a newfound appreciation for the crazy life he has taken on. Anyone that appreciates music can recognize what a blessing it is that a singer as unique as Post Malone found sanctuary in being open and raw in his music before succumbing to Hollywood inauthenticity.