My final album review is a relatively simple one: Post Malone’s Hollywood’s Bleeding (album cover above). I call it simple because there really is not much to analyze or decrypt. Unlike the strictly rap-oriented verses of Kendrick Lamar or J. Cole, Post Malone gravitates toward the pop-rap genre, blending elements of both pop and hip-hop seamlessly. The simple nature of the album does not detract from its score, however, as it’s a skill to make something that becomes incredibly loved by a wide audience. Of the seventeen songs on the album, the lowest number of plays is still over 150 million (“I Know”), and the highest? 
Over 3.2 billion with “Sunflower”, a song featured on the incredible film Spider-
Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which I highly recommend watching. With such a high stream count, it’s hard to discredit any aspect of this album. (Screenshots from Spotify)
The entire album is relatively short for the number of songs, clocking in at just over fifty minutes. Compare this with good kid, m.A.A.d city (Deluxe) which is an hour and a half for the same number of songs. These are short hits, songs that will immediately turn into earworms that refuse to stay quiet. For a week now, I have found myself singing and humming Track 6 “Circles”, an infectious song detailing the never ending cycle of a relationship that breaks up and reconciles over and over again. Despite the heavy nature of the lyrics, the lyrics are upbeat and lively, and interestingly, does not have any expletives, making it enjoyed by all age ranges. These simple rhymes and repetitive structure make it the perfect song for belting out in the shower, on the walk to class, or whenever you want to live out the “what-would-have-happened-if-I-became-a-singer” fantasy for a short three minutes.
That said, this fantasy doesn’t have to only last three minutes. All of the songs are of the same vein, and, in fact, you can experiment with all kinds of ranges and voices trying to emulate the fantastic features on the songs. The aforementioned hit “Sunflower” features Swae Lee and boasts one of the best beats on the album. Other prominent features include DaBaby in “Enemies”, Travis Scott and Ozzy Ozborne (the vocalist for Black Sabbath), the latter of whom plays an unexpected guitar solo in the middle of “Take What you Want”, and SZA in “Staring At The Sun”.
The central theme throughout the album is a dissatisfaction with Hollywood glamor and toxic relationships, both romantic and not. Within this dissatisfaction, there exists a reluctance to leave and the impossibility/futility of escape. And the world loves it.
Reaching the peak position on the Billboard 200, Hollywood’s Bleeding has been embraced by countries worldwide. For instance, it reached No.1 on several international charts, including but not limited to Australia, Belgium, Canada, Ireland, and Latvia.
Despite being released nearly 5 years ago, these songs don’t age a bit. So go ahead and listen to them all. Then you can sing along with me:)
I can’t argue, Sunflower still hits the same after all these years. It’s hard to believe that this album came out 5 years ago, with the song coming out a year prior. It seems like it was just yesterday that I was in middle school listening to this all the time. Post Malone has always found a way to blend crooning with the hip-hop world, a skill that is severely underrated in today’s world.
A very well-fitting way to end the reviews, Vishnu, enjoyed the journey throughout the semester!
This post is awesome because it is about Post Malone. Despite the face tattoos and other questionable decisions the man has made throughout his life, he is undoubtedly the best when it comes to blending pop and rap genres, which is why I appreciate his music so much. I also admire that a lot of his music is about deep personal experience, especially his conversion from a previous, difficult period of his life. Though many good songs come from this album, and this review certainly does them justice, I think his best album was Twelve Karat Toothache. Call me crazy, but it made up most of my summer music in 2022 just after its release. Great choice!
This post was great, as a Post Malone fan myself I enjoyed reading through this one. I have always found his songs so timeless in the pop world and each one seems like it can be a number one single. Post really has a unique touch and blends genres together to make genuine art. He is definitely one of the best artists of our time and his music will be remembered.
This album is a certified radio hit. Even though this album is so mainstream, I still enjoy listening to all these songs. In fact, some of the songs are still in my rotation. I am pretty sure Post Malone also holds the record for most songs to go Diamond; he definitely has the recipe to success. It sounds like your favorite song is “Circle,” which is a classis for me too. You can come to my dorm anytime and we can sing these songs together.
Hollywood’s Bleeding is an incredibly underrated album that I often forget about but will come back to once in a while. The variety of features keeps the album interesting and authentic, and I remember playing many of the songs they were on when the album first released. Do you believe that Post Malone was at the peak of his musical potential when he released this album, or do you think that he still has room to grow as an artist as he transitions into the pop and now country genres?