A few days back, a report surfaced speculating that Post Malone's "Rockstar" had reached the top of the charts through a Youtube loophole, in which a "chorus-only" version helped skyrocket the track's total play count. It left many fans wondering if Post had achieved his number one spot naturally, or if the loophole was the dominant catalyst in racking up the numbers. It should be mentioned that even if Republic Records were aware of the loophole, it seems kind of unfair to target Post over this, and even worse to fling off accusations willy-nilly. However, this whole debacle does open the door for an interesting discourse about charting and music streaming in general: what actually constitutes a number one hit, and are there even "authentic" means of reaching the top?
Either way, Post got wind of the reports, and clearly felt some type of way about the accusations. The "Rockstar" scribe took to Twitter to seemingly vent his frustrations, taking aim at the publication Spin in particular. A few nights ago, after the story first broke, Post fired off a seemingly random "Fuck You," before saying "whenever you live your dreams everyone wants to try to take it away from you."
Afterward, Spin posted a tweet saying ".@PostMalone’s “rockstar” probably went to No. 1 thanks to this ridiculous video," which prompted a direct reply from Post - "well the song is good so probably not the only reason why." From that point on, the discussion seemed to end, and Post continued to carry on with his life. At the end of the day, the so-called "White Iverson" is currently enjoying the benefits of a number one single, and at the end of the day, are the charts really worth fighting over?
Check out Post's tweets below.
https://twitter.com/_/status/920487449784184832
https://twitter.com/_/status/920366757411508229