"Rockstar" is a song by American rapper

Post Malone Austin Richard Post (born July 4, 1995), known professionally as Post Malone, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. His music blends various genres including hip-hop, Pop music, pop, Contemporary R&B, R&B, Tra ...

featuring British-American rapper

21 Savage Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph (born October 22, 1992), known professionally as 21 Savage, is an American-British rapper. Born in London and raised in Atlanta, he began his recording career in 2013 and released three independent mixtapes to regiona ...

. It was released on September 15, 2017, by

Republic Records Republic Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). Based in New York City, it was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially ...

as the

lead single A lead single (or first single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. A similar term, "debut ...

from Malone's second studio album '' Beerbongs & Bentleys'' (2018). The song was written alongside Carl Rosen, Joey Bada$$, and producers Louis Bell & Tank God. The track received mixed reviews from music critics, and became the artists' most successful hit single to date, reaching number one on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and reaching the top spot in several other countries, including Australia, Canada, Greece, Portugal, Romania, Ireland, New Zealand, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark and the United Kingdom. It became both Post Malone and 21 Savage's first number-one single in all the countries mentioned. The song was nominated for

Record of the Year The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without re ...

and

Best Rap/Sung Performance The Grammy Award for Best Melodic Rap Performance (awarded as Best Rap/Sung Collaboration until 2017, and Best Rap/Sung Performance from 2018 to 2020) is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and original ...

at the

61st Annual Grammy Awards The 61st Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on February 10, 2019, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Singer-songwriter Alicia Keys hosted. During her opening monologue, Keys brought out Lady Gaga, Jada Pinkett Smith, Jennifer Lopez, and fo ...

. Post Malone posted a snippet of himself playing the track in the studio via

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

on December 24, 2016.

Music videos

The now-private unofficial YouTube video for the track's audio, released by

, is a three-minute-and-38-second loop of solely the song's chorus. Therefore, the song was able to receive equivalent downloads without featuring the entirety of the song, which some attributed to its number-one spot on the Hot 100. Some called it a "clever marketing scheme", while others believed it was a trick or a loophole. The official music video, directed by

Emil Nava Emil William Capper Nava (born 29 March 1985) is a British music video director. After leaving school at 16, Emil started his career as a chef. He shot to fame after directing Jessie J's song " Do It Like A Dude". He has since directed over 1 ...

, was released on Post Malone's

Vevo Vevo LLC ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized in all caps until 2013) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available ...

YouTube channel on November 21, 2017. The video features Post Malone in a room fighting against a gang of men with samurai swords, and ends with Post Malone and 21 Savage covered in blood. ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' noted that the video references the Japanese action film '' Lady Snowblood''. On June 23, 2022, after nearly 5 years on YouTube, the video hit 1 billion views.

Commercial performance

The song reached number one on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, becoming Post Malone and 21 Savage's first number-one song. It debuted at number two behind

Cardi B Belcalis Marlenis Cephus (; born October 11, 1992), known professionally as Cardi B, is an American rapper. Noted for her unfiltered public image and lyrics, Cardi B is one of the most successful female rappers. From 2015 to early 2017, she ga ...

's " Bodak Yellow", breaking the single week streaming record on Apple Music with over 25 million streams becoming Post Malone's third top 20 hit, following his debut single, "

White Iverson "White Iverson" is the debut single by American rapper Post Malone. It was released through Republic Records on August 14, 2015, as the lead single from his debut studio album, '' Stoney'' (2016). It was originally released on February 4, 2015, t ...

" and his second top 10 hit after "

Congratulations Congratulations may refer to: Film and television * Congratulations (2010 film), an Egyptian film * Congratulations (2023 film), a Gujarati drama film *'' Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest'', 2005 television programme ...

". It stayed behind " Bodak Yellow" for three consecutive weeks before reaching the top spot in its fourth week. "Rockstar" topped the Hot 100 for eight weeks, the longest run at number one for a hip hop song in 2017. After its eighth week at number one, it was knocked off by "

Perfect Perfect commonly refers to: * Perfection; completeness, and excellence * Perfect (grammar), a grammatical category in some languages Perfect may also refer to: Film and television * ''Perfect'' (1985 film), a romantic drama * ''Perfect'' (20 ...

" by

Ed Sheeran Edward Christopher Sheeran ( ; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently r ...

and

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...

. The single has sold over 10,000,000 copies, being certified Diamond in the US. In New Zealand, it debuted at number 4, then moved to the top spot the following week, staying at the summit for 8 weeks. In Australia, it topped the

ARIA Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

for seven weeks In 21 Savage's native United Kingdom, "Rockstar" debuted at number five on the UK Singles Chart on September 22, 2017. The following week, it rose three places to number two, behind

Sam Smith Samuel Frederick Smith (born 19 May 1992) is an English singer and songwriter. In 2012, they rose to prominence when they featured on Disclosure (band), Disclosure's breakthrough single "Latch (song), Latch", which peaked at number eleven on ...

's " Too Good at Goodbyes", before reaching the top of the chart on October 6, 2017. In September 2020, "Rockstar" became the second song ever, after Ed Sheeran's "

Shape of You "Shape of You" is a song by English singer Ed Sheeran. It was released on 6 January 2017 as one of the lead single, double lead singles from his third studio album ''÷ (album), ÷'' (2017), along with "Castle on the Hill". The Dancehall pop, ...

", to surpass 2 billion streams on the audio platform

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a List of companies of Sweden, Swedish Music streaming service, audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services ...

Critical reception

"Rockstar" received mixed reviews from music critics. '' Spin.com'' reviewed the song's unofficial video by stating: "The chorus loop may be a weirdly hypnotic, post-Vine marketing gimmick, but it seems like it worked. "rockstar" is both Post Malone's and 21 Savage's first-ever No. 1 single, meaning this probably won't be the last time an artist attempts to boost a track by distilling its catchiest section into a standalone product. Maybe, in the future, we'll all listen to seconds-long hooks on endless extended loops." ''Spin'' and ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' both named the song one of the worst of 2017.

Remixes

On November 29, 2017, an unofficial

Crankdat Christian Smith (born March 2, 1997), known professionally as Crankdat, is an American DJ and electronic dance music producer. Early life Smith grew up desiring to be an athlete, but ultimately turned down a full-ride track-and-field scholar ...

remix of the song was released on the Trap Nation channel on YouTube. On December 13, 2017, a Latin remix of the song featuring Dominican-Puerto Rican

reggaeton Reggaeton (, ) is a modern style of popular music, popular and electronic music that originated in Panamanian reggaetón, Panama during the late 1980s, and which rose to prominence in the late 1990s and early 2000s through a plethora of Puert ...

artists

Nicky Jam Nick Rivera Caminero (born March 17, 1981), known professionally as Nicky Jam, is an American singer. He is best known for hits such as " X", " Travesuras", " El Perdón", " Hasta el Amanecer", and " El Amante"; the latter three are from his 20 ...

and

Ozuna Juan Carlos Ozuna Rosado (; born March 13, 1992), known simply by his surname Ozuna, is a Puerto Rican singer, born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico to a Dominican father and a Puerto Rican mother. Five of his studio albums have topped ...

was released. Another remix was released on December 22, 2017, featuring new verses from rappers

Jadakiss Jason Terrance Phillips (born May 27, 1975), better known by his stage name Jadakiss (, ), is an American rapper who began his career in the 1990s and formed the hip hop trio the Lox alongside Styles P and Sheek Louch in 1994. The group signed w ...

and Nino Man. On December 25, 2017,

Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. He is often regarded as one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generation, as well as one of the greatest rappers of all ...

released his remix of the song, titled "5 Star" featuring

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian rapper, singer, and songwriter. Regarded as the "Queen of Rap" and one of the most influential rappers of all time, she is noted for her ...

, as a single from his mixtape ''

Dedication 6 ''Dedication 6'' is a two part mixtape by American rapper Lil Wayne, hosted by DJ Drama. The first part of the mixtape was released on December 25, 2017. A second part of the mixtape titled ''Dedication 6: Reloaded'' was released on January 26, 2 ...

''. On January 23, 2018, American rapper

Fetty Wap Willie Junior Maxwell II (born June 7, 1991), better known by his stage name Fetty Wap, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He quickly rose to mainstream prominence after his 2014 song " Trap Queen" peaked at number two on the ''Bil ...

released his remix of the song.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications

Release history

References