Noah Kahan charted with “Dial Drunk”

Dial Drunk Noah Kahan with Post Malone

Writer(s): Noah Kahan, Austin Post, Noah Levine (see lyrics here) Released: July 17, 2023 First Charted: June 17, 2023 Peak: 25 BB, 21 AC, 9 A40, 12 AA, 12 MR, 32 UK, 14 CN, 45 AU, 1 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 2.0 US, 0.6 UK, 3.15 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 40.97 video, 747.21 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Everyone has songs that are personally iconic for them. Some resonate as mantras (Indigo Girls’ “Closer to Fine,”Michael Franti’s “Everyone Deserves Music”) or reflections on life (XTC’s “Dear God,” Crowded House’s “Silent House”). There are those that capture pivotal moments of young adulthood either in mood or message (Styx’s “Renegade,” David + David’s “Welcome to the Boomtown”). For me, there are also songs that will forever represent a time where my sense of musical discovery expanded (Marillion’s “Kayleigh,” Tori Amos’ “Silent All These Years”). On the latter front, most people tend to abandon the pursuit of new music in their thirties, preferring to soak up the nostalgia of their youth. Even at 57, however, I’m always interested in finding new artists, new songs, and new sounds. “Dial Drunk” became one of those latter songs. My son Evan was home from college over Christmas break 2023 and expressed surprise at hearing me listen to Noah Kahan on Spotify. Evan had just seen Kahan live in New York with a friend. I confessed that the song “Dial Drunk” had just randomly popped up on my playlist and I hadn’t been familiar with the artist although I’d heard the song a few times. The song became a launching point for me as I delved deep into Kahan’s music and was especially taken by the slew of musicians with whom he’d dueted (Zach Bryan, Brandi Carlile, Hozier, Kacey Musgraves, Post Malone, and Joy Oladokun). It sent me down a very welcomed rabbit hole for 2024 as I embraced what I call “New Americana” music, which included the artists I’ve listed as well as Benson Boone, Shaboozey, Teddy Swims and others. As for Noah Kahan’s background, the folk-pop singer/songwriter was born on January 1, 1997 in Strattford, Vermont. He released his first album, Busyhead, in 2019 but it wasn’t until his third album, 2022’s Stick Season, that his career really took off. The double-platinum release peaked at #2 on the Billboard album chart propelled by the top-10 success of the title cut as well as top-40 success with “Northern Attitude” and “Dial Drunk.” The latter – the third single – caught the attention of rapper and singer Post Malone. Kahan said of the collaboration, which included a new verse written by Malone, that “it has been a dream come true to make this collaboration happen.” WK Kahan also said of the song in general, “I never know when or why a song is going to land and to see the meaning and connection you have drawn from this track has inspired me in a way I have never been inspired before.” WK Songfacts.com said of the song, “In this raw and introspective narrative, Noah Kahan finds himself in a dire situation, having just been arrested for drunk driving and desperately needing help. Struggling with his own demons and breaking a promise, he dials his ex's phone number, which he knows will go unanswered. From the very beginning of the song, the tone is set, as he reflects on the irony of remembering his promise not to contact his ex, yet succumbing to the allure of the past while under the influence of alcohol.” SF Resources: SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 10/15/2024; last updated 11/21/2025.

Post Malone “Circles” hit #1

Circles Post Malone

Writer(s): Austin Post, Louis Bell, Adam Feeney, Kaan Gunesberk, Billy Walsh (see lyrics here) Released: August 30, 2019 First Charted: September 14, 2019 Peak: 13 US, 111 BA, 11 DG, 17 RR, 12 AC, 14 A40, 23 MR, 3 UK, 2 CN, 2 AU, 3 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 10.0 US, 1.2 UK, 12.62 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 0.94 radio, 858.40 video, 2400.49 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Singer/songwriter and rapper Post Malone was born Austin Richard Post in Syracuse, New York in 1995. His debut album Stoney from 2016 featured the top 10, diamond-certified song “Congratulations.” His next album, 2017’s Beerbongs & Bentleys, spawned the #1 hits “Rockstar” and “Psycho” as well as the # hit “Better Now.” In 2019, he released Hollywood’s Bleeding. The first two singles, “Wow.” and “Goodbyes” reached #2 and #3 respectively; the third single, “Circles,” gave him his fourth #1 song. It was his first chart-topper where he wasn’t accompanied by another artist. “Circles” set a record for most weeks in the top 10 (39) before being surpassed by the Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights.” It logged 61 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100. It became the most-played radio song of 2020 overall as well as on adult contemporary radio. WK The song was also nominated for Grammys for Record and Song of the Year. Songfacts.com described the song this way: “Though the relationship seems to bring only sorrow, Post and his lover are unable to split. But continuing to stay together on their carousel only increases the tension between them.” SF Billboard magazine described the song as “backed by sunny, acoustic guitars, swirling percussion, and infectious melodies.” WK R Dub, the director of programming at Z90.3, called it “an absolutely addicting, fun, emotional, and…non-fatiguing hook, combined with relatable lyrics.” WK Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Post Malone SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia First posted 10/19/2022; last updated 3/31/2024.

Post Malone hit #1 with “Rockstar”

Rockstar Post Malone with 21 Savage

Writer(s): Austin Post, Shayaa Abraham-Joseph, Louis Bell, Carl Austin Rosen, Jo Vaughn Virginie, Olufunmibi Awoshiley (see lyrics here) Released: September 15, 2017 First Charted: October 7, 2017 Peak: 18 US, 11 DG, 114 ST, 5 RR, 114 RB, 14 UK, 16 CN, 17 AU, 26 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 10.0 US, 1.8 UK, 13.26 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 1546.40 video, 2908.87 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: As the lead single from his second album, “Rockstar” took Post Malone to new heights. “Congratulations,” from his debut album, had gone top 10 on the U.S. pop and R&B charts, but “Rockstar” gave Post Malone his first #1 on those charts as well as countries around the world, including Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. WK The song was also nominated for a Grammy for Record of the Year and won Song of the Year at the MTV Video Music Awards. The song was marketed with an unusual, albeit unofficial YouTube video consisting solely of an audio of the song’s chorus. While some considered it a trick to qualify for downloads, others called it a clever marketing scheme which may have been responsible for its #1 status. Spin magazine said, “the chorus loop may be a weirdly hypnotic, post-Vine marketing gimmick, but it seems like it worked.” WK However, they also named it one of the worst songs of 2017. WK Lyrically, the song is a celebration of the hedonistic lifestyle of sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll. English singer-songwriter Ian Dury’s 1977 single “Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll” first popularized the phrase. SF Post Malone and 21 Savage, with whom he duets on the track, both brag about the amount of sex and drugs which they have incorporated into their rock ‘n’ roll lifestyles. SF Musically, the song grew out of two chance meetings between Post Malone and Tank God, a young producer who was working on a session next door at Quad Studios in New York. Tank God ran into Post Malone again in a sneaker store in Los Angeles and asked if he could play some beats for Post Malone. SF When it was recorded, T-Pain and Joey Badass were first featured on the song before they were replaced by 21 Savage. SF Resources: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Post Malone DMDB Encyclopedia entry for 21 Savage SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Last updated 3/31/2024.