No, Post Malone’s “rockstar” Didn’t Cheat Its Way to the Top of the ARIA Charts

In America, controversy has erupted over “rockstar”. But here in Oz, it’s an honest-to-goodness bonza hit.

Post Malone and 21 Savage’s “rockstar” is one of the biggest underdog hits of the year, taking the #1 spot in both the United States and Australia—a first for both artists.

But, gasp, controversy: Fader has exposed a loophole that seemingly helped pushed “rockstar” past Cardi B’s “Bodak Yellow” to take the top spot in the United States.

See, in America, official YouTube plays are considered streams, which are counted in the Billboard rankings. However, the official video for “rockstar”, posted by Republic Records, is just a loop of the chorus that happens to run for exactly 3:38—the length of the regular song. (By the way: That sounds interminable. Who would listen to this?)

The video itself offers listeners/viewers a link to hear the full song via their preferred streaming service, but as Fader suggests, with 42 million views (and counting), this cheeky clip is already doing the work of nudging “rockstar” up the charts, without the help of Spotify or Apple Music. (The clip also doesn’t have 21 Savage’s verse on it, making this a fairly hollow victory for the dude.)

It got us thinking: Had these same shenanigans gotten “rockstar” to the top of the ARIA Charts in Australia?

Turns out, no. Aussies just really like it, 21 Savage verse and all.

A spokesperson for ARIA confirmed that YouTube plays are not counted in the official ARIA Singles Chart, where “rockstar” sits above Camila Cabello and Young Thug’s “Havana”.

However, they are counted in the Streaming Audio Visual Tracks Chart, where “rockstar” is also #1, above Dua Lipa’s “New Rules”.

So, there you go. Though Post Malone and 21 Savage may have a somewhat questionable claim to the crown in America, they have absolutely earned it in Australia.

Enjoy (?) the 3:38 loop of the chorus below.

(Language warning.)

Photo: Instagram.com/postmalone