Post Malone deserved a massive congratulations after dropping his third studio album in September
2019.
A workhorse behind his laid back exterior, the singer had the second-biggest release
week of the year with this seminal output, Hollywood's Bleeding.
Post Malone might come off as a weed-smoking party boy who hangs out at Olive Garden, plays
beer pong, and doesn't think twice before renting out an entire Hooters on a Monday
morning to chill with his friends - but he's actually quite a prolific songwriter.
In today's music climate, it's not uncommon to have a two to three-year album cycle.
Just look at Taylor Swift, who released 1989 in 2014, Reputation in 2017, and Lover in
2019.
Even so, modern artists typically rely on a string of single releases and EPs rather
than a full album - but not Malone.
Hollywood's Bleeding has an impressive, expansive track list.
Unlike the usual 10 to 12 songs of a traditional LP, Malone pushed the limits with 17 tracks.
Plus, the album came out just a year and change after his sophomore effort, Beerbongs & Bentleys
- probably because he records lightning fast.
In a YouTube interview with pal Kerwin Frost, Malone admitted that he laid down most of
the songs for his third full length album in less than a week:
"I remember we did 10 plus songs, finishing in like three days."
Hey, if you can make 10 songs in a long weekend, why wouldn't you release an album every year?
Hollywood's Bleeding might span an epic 17 tracks, but it could have been a heck of a
lot longer.
When Malone hopped into the studio with his team, he originally wrote a jaw-dropping number
of tracks.
In an interview for Beats 1, the rapper revealed he didn't hop into the studio for a couple
of months like most artists.
Instead, he had to sneak in studio time between tours.
Despite his busy schedule, Post still managed to pen a whopping fifty tracks for the album,
but ultimately narrowed it down to just 17.
Among them was "Sunflower," which was released in 2018 as part of the soundtrack for Spider-Man:
Into the Spider-Verse.
Malone explained that he likes the writing process to be an organic experience - and
doesn't focus on trying to make hits.
"I'm not trying to make the dopest s--- or like, 'Y'all, this is a big hit.'"
Malone has a reported $14 million net worth, but his tastes haven't particularly evolved
with his rap star bank account.
Instead of the classics like Hennessy, Cristal, or Patron, the singer prefers regular old
Bud Light.
Malone - who performed on Bud Light's Dive Bar Tour - has made this beer a studio essential.
The juice helps his creative juices get flowing.
Plus, it just creates a good, low-key studio vibe.
By the time Malone geared up to record his third full-length album, he already had record-making
down to a science.
His creative process involved cracking open some cold ones, throwing a ton of ideas at
the wall, and packaging whatever stuck into Hollywood's Bleeding.
"Usually I just go in and have an abnormal amount of Bud Light and go into the booth."
He explained that he'll play around by singing over different beats for a while until he
finds one worth writing down.
"We've done that probably a hundred times, and then just shift through them, and then
see which ones are smoosh hits."
So, that's how Posty ended up narrowing down Hollywood's Bleeding to 17 tracks.
It all depends on the "smoosh hit" potential of those Bud Light-fueled ideas.
Ozzy Osbourne and Post Malone are two of the most unlikely collaborators.
Nonetheless, they managed to find common ground on the song "Take What You Want."
According to The Fader, the song was Osbourne's first top 10 hit in three decades - and it
wouldn't have been possible without his daughter, Kelly Osbourne.
Andrew Watt, who co-wrote, co-produced, and contributed guitar to Malone's hit, told Billboard
that his idea for an Ozzy collaboration came when he saw Malone buy a picture of the singer
from the Rainbow Bar & Grill.
Though he didn't know Ozzy, he used his existing relationship with Kelly as a gateway.
Watt told Billboard,
"Kelly played [Ozzy] the tape and he loved it, but then I didn't hear anything for a
while.
[...] I kept texting Kelly over and over again, and all of a sudden, we got the text from
her that said, 'Dad's going to do the song.
He loves it.'"
The project briefly stalled when Ozzy was hospitalized due to complications stemming
from the flu.
Most of the recording of "Take What You Want" happened while Post Malone was home in Utah.
According to an interview with Billboard, the singer couldn't make the session because
of his touring schedule, but Andrew Watt managed to FaceTime him in while Ozzy Osbourne laid
down the track.
The rapper, who'd been a fan of Black Sabbath since he was a child, was a proper fanboy
on the phone.
In his Beats 1 interview, Malone admitted that he took screen grabs of the famed metal
singer during their FaceTime chat.
"So we talked and it was like a big f---ing deal.
Ozzy Osbourne."
Unfortunately, the sentiment wasn't exactly shared.
Apparently, you can break streaming records and still be anonymous in the eyes of your
fellow rock stars.
Watt admitted to Billboard that Osbourne didn't know who they were talking to on FaceTime,
saying,
"Ozzy's like, 'Who the f--- is this?
Are you talking with the bloody Post Man?'
And everyone's laughing their asses off."
According to Post's Beats 1 interview, Osbourne did eventually admit to Watt that the song
was his favorite thing he's done since Black Sabbath.
Not a bad compliment coming from one of the most legendary acts of all time.
Though Malone recorded the bulk of Hollywood's Bleeding in a single three-day session, he
told Kerwin Frost during their interview that the song "Staring at the Sun" came about last
minute.
He ended up tapping SZA, whose hit "The Weekend" peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in
2018, for the track.
Malone and SZA had been bumping elbows long before their collaboration.
In 2017, they worked on Lorde's remix of "Homemade Dynamite," though it's unlikely they were
ever in the studio together.
That same year, they also shared the stage at Pandora's NYC Party.
SZA had just dropped her debut album and Post was still riding on Stoney's success.
It seemed like it was only a matter of time before they linked up for real.
In his Beats 1 interview, the "Congratulations" singer admitted he finally hit it off with
the star when they just happened to be staying in the same hotel.
"We had a run where were just going around, and we were at the same hotel, and we sat
around and talked, and she's such an incredible person, such a sweet person."
Malone ended up asking her to join him on the song that he described to her as, quote,
"f---ing perfect" for her.
"Sunflower" is undeniably one of the most successful songs on Hollywood's Bleeding,
and it seems like it got a ferocious start as the lead single from the soundtrack to
Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse.
The Swae Lee collaboration broke a top 10 record on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart
and tied for the record of most weeks spent in the Hot 100's top 10.
Though the song is obviously a massive success, it definitely didn't start out that way.
At first, it was just a tiny beat labeled "80s instrumental."
Carter Lang, a Chicago-based writer and producer, penned the beat with Louis Bell during a session
at Electric Feel studios in Los Angeles.
Lang told Songwriter Universe,
"I was working with Lou, and we made a cool beat that we called '80s Instrumental.'
I did the drums with a DXM drum machine.
Then eventually, Lou showed it to Post and Swae, and they cut it.
Then I got a text from [Post].
He said, 'Hey, this is a great track,' and it all came together.
So I was very excited to hear how it all sounded, and how it worked in the movie."
Lee, who's since worked with pop legends like Madonna, had an impressive work ethic when
it came to his collaboration with Post Malone.
Apparently, the best ideas really do happen if you stay up all night.
According to an interview with Variety, the track almost didn't happen because of sheer
exhaustion.
The pair had already recorded five songs during their session with Louis Bell at Electric
Feel and daylight hours were fast approaching.
By the time Lee pushed to record just one more track, it was already about six in the
morning.
Lee told Variety,
"The melody came first, then the hook and my verse.
I just wrote in my head and then I ended up putting words to it just like five minutes
after.
[...] I was fully warmed up [after a full night in the studio] and the most creative
energy comes out at 5 a.m. amongst us creatives.
[...] I wanted to go out with a bang that night, and I got it out of me."
The eye bags were clearly worth it.
In the past, Lee has had streaming hits with Diplo and Ellie Goulding, but "Sunflower"
was his first chart-topping hit as a solo artist in the U.S.
According to Billboard, the song - which has since amassed more than 1 billion streams
on Spotify - peaked at Number 1 on the streaming charts.
"Die For Me" was a slow burn.
The track, which features both Future and Hopeless Fountain Kingdom singer Halsey, was
brought to Post Malone's attention long before he actually decided to record it.
In his interview with Kerwin Frost, Post admitted that he wasn't in, quote, "album mode" when
Louis Bell first brought him the song, because he was touring.
It was only later that he discovered its true genius.
"He played it back also towards the end of making the record, and I was like, this is
f---ing massive."
Malone added that the song ended up coming together "like magic."
It might have also been magic for Halsey, who was healing from a chaotic split from
fellow music star G-Eazy.
As the Daily Mail points out, her verses might have finally addressed the long-standing cheating
rumors surrounding the former celeb couple.
On the track, Halsey sings about selling "15 million copies of a break-up note."
That "break-up note" was likely a reference to the star's single "Without Me," which was
her first Number 1 as a lead artist.
Malone had been working on his Beerbongs & Bentleys follow-up since 2018, but he almost didn't
live to see the album's release.
The music star almost died in a terrifying plane accident before Hollywood's Bleeding
was finished.
In August 2018, Post's private plane was forced to make an emergency landing after two tires
on the aircraft exploded.
According to TMZ, the FAA's incident report said that the plane initially landed because
the doors weren't properly closed.
It took off again shortly after, which was when the two tires blew out.
Both the tires and the airplane were overdue for maintenance, and the aircraft was reportedly
"way too heavy."
To make matters worse, the crew allegedly "ignored safety procedures."
TMZ reports that Malone's plane ended up circling for hours in order to burn fuel, which made
the crash-landing a little bit safer.
The plane ultimately landed safely, but Post was somewhat traumatized.
"Flying just scares the s--- out of me.
If I was going down and they knew I was going down, I wish they'd just told me, but they
just kept me flying up here for like four or five hours."
Post Malone knows his way around a great collaboration, and during his Beats 1 interview, he admitted
that he chooses his collaborators based on how they vibe and not their popularity.
"Business is on the back end.
I think music at the end of the day has nothing to do with f---ing business.
Music has to do with people."
He added that in his industry, you can't just go looking for whoever's hot at the moment
- instead, it's got to be "organic."
Malone has managed to foster an organic connection with a number of chart-toppers for Hollywood's
Bleeding - and it seems like artists are already positioning themselves as potential collaborators
for full-length album number four.
One of those artists is pop country legend Shania Twain.
Post was caught on camera having the absolute best time dancing to Twain at the 2019 American
Music Awards, where Hollywood's Bleeding was named the favorite rap album of the year.
After that, Twain admitted in an interview with The Talk that she had written a song
for the potential duo in hopes of a collab.
"He doesn't know it yet.
He knows now.
So Post, I have a song for us."
Malone is already a country music fan - so here's hoping.
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