Post Malone’s sold-out appearance at Barclays Center on December 29th was the epitome of the growing youth generation. Littered with profanity, drugs, and musical hits, the conglomerate of the experience could not have better represented the ‘trendy’ society. Joined by Tyla Yaweh and Lil Pump, the 23-year-old artist gave an unforgettable performance filled with the same humbleness, passion, and wit that drips off both of his record-breaking albums.

Prior to Post Malone’s performance, the stadium was collectively shaking with euphoria as unaccompanied teenagers, adults, and a scattered minority of elderly audience members could not begin to comprehend the mere idea of being in the vicinity of the legendary rockstar. Despite the competence and high-energy productions from both opening acts, neither could parallel Malone’s and the audience discretely externalized their impatience. As Malone delayed his appearance by almost 3 hours, the audience gradually settled into their seats as if to conserve energy and kept all parts of their bodies still except for their mouths, which loudly demanded Post Malone. When the artists finally took to the stage after a projected countdown, he introduced himself by his birth-given name, Austin Richard Post instead of stage-name, Post Malone. Although a seemingly insignificant change, the introduction emphasized Malone’s humbleness in associating himself with the person he was before fame. This familiarity of thankfulness and humbleness would continue to penetrate his speech throughout the concert as he thanked his fans after EVERY SINGLE song; truly comprehending that without them, he might still be Austin Post from Texas with dreams too big for his own head.

Before every song, Malone included an entertaining anecdote that served both to interact with the audience alongside hinting at the next hit that would be played since there was no established setlist prior to the concert. Telling brief stories about his romantic past or even promoting the newest superhero movie, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, before singing Sunflower– a feature in the movie’s soundtrack- Malone was able to create a personal experience that spanned beyond the music he gifted. As there was no defined setlist, Malone was able to toy with the performance and customize it as he wished, playing songs that no fan could have predicted. The sixth song played, Wow., was received by an incredulous audience. The single was released Christmas Eve and Post Malone admitted that it was his first time playing it live for an audience. In a witty remark, he addresses the hit’s newness in asking the audience if they had even liked the song since its release. Met with enthusiastic shouts of “yes,” Malone proceeded to butcher the first verse to only return to the beginning and deliver a memorable first-ever performance of the five-day-old hit.

Alone on stage, Malone only had his voice for company and the millions of eyes locked with his own, definitely blurry in the collision of moving bodies. Abandoning the playback of his own hits, for Stay, Malone mounted a bench center-stage and perched a singing guitar on his knee. Vulnerably opening himself to the audience, he admitted to not having played the song on the guitar since its recording and proceeded to fiddle with the strings. Laughing to himself and continuing an unreciprocated conversation with the audience members while playing soft riffs on the guitar, Malone began the unmistakable notes of the beerbongs & bentleys feature. In an almost instantaneous gesture, the stadium was covered with voices shaking with pain and melancholy. During the song, phone flashlights were lit to give the illusion of daylight- millions of twinkling beams pointed towards the sky, all swaying in unison to Malone’s raspy vocals after an inhale of the cigarette loosely harbored between two fingers. However, the somber mood was quickly shattered as Malone returned with his recognizable rockstar essence and smashed that same guitar to smithereens on stage not even ten minutes after making it sing.

Despite Post Malone’s sudden climb to fame in just 2 years following the release of White Iverson on SoundCloud, both his recent musical accomplishments as well as his sold-out appearance on December 29 leave the world quasi-speechless – only able to mutter a sole “Congratulations.”

Setlist: Too Young, Over Now, No Option, Sugar Wraith, Candy Paint, Wow., Psycho, I Fall Apart, Paranoid, White Iverson, Stay, Go Flex, Sunflower, Rockstar, Better Now, Congratulations