Elite 100: Post Malone Lays Claim To Throne

John Davisson – Post Malone
While wearing a Dolly Parton outfit, Post Malone sets the stage on fire at the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Manchester, Tenn. on June 15.

Hollywood’s Bleeding and Post Malone is leading the Elite 100 Artists chart for the week ending Sept. 12.

Posty took the top slot after the Sept. 6 release of his third full-length album, Hollywood’s Bleeding. His strongest metric was streaming, with 422.5 million on-demand streams for the week, but he led in every category, with 122,100 song sales and 238,700 album sales.

The artist’s very own festival, Posty Fest, will return to Texas Nov. 2, this time heading to AT&T Stadium in Arlington. The lineup, announced last week, includes Meek Mill, Pharrell Williams, Rae Sremmurd, Jaden Smith, Doja Cat, as well as Posty himself. Last year’s Posty Fest was held at Dos Equis Pavilion in Dallas, with Travis Scott, Tyler, The Creator, Lil Skies, Ski Mask The Slump God, Tierra Whack and more.

Now in the midst of his “Runaway” tour, the rapper next plays Sacramento, Calif., Sept. 19 and follows it up with a trip to Fresno, Calif., Sept. 21. Malone remains on tour throughout the U.S. until a Nov. 20 gig at The Forum in Los Angeles.

Malone has rocketed from a relative unknown to headlining arenas in about three years and his trajectory has been seen as a benchmark for how quickly hip-hop acts can rise in venue size. Pollstar spoke with his agent, Cheryl Paglierani of UTA last year, who said of the rise: “Every show we book has a purpose and is a building block to get us to the next level. Three years ago, Post was playing the Skate Stage at Made in America and this year he’s headlining. Everything in between has been about growth and taking the necessary steps to ensure longevity.”

Melanie Martinez is another chart-climber this week after the release of her new album, K-12. Martinez comes in at No. 7 on the week with 64,500 total album units. Martinez also made her directorial debut for the “K-12” film, which was released alongside the album and is available entirely for free on YouTube.

After building a loyal fanbase during her turn on season three of “The Voice,” Melanie Martinez dropped her debut album, Cry Baby, in 2015 and was featured on the cover of Pollstar in 2016.

“From the second she walked into my office and sang one song I knew she was destined for some kind of stardom,” her manager, Ron Shapiro, told Pollstar. “She just screamed artist and one that was meant to have an impact.”

Martinez has tour dates throughout the U.S. starting in October, mostly with Lauren Ruth Ward as support.

The Highwomen – the subject of a feature in a recent edition of Pollstar – came in at No. 33 for the week, with 32,100 total album units. The country supergroup’s best metric was album sales, with 28,900 for the week.

Comprising of Amanda Shires, Maren Morris, Brandi Carlile and Natalie Hemby, The Highwomen performed with Dolly Parton at Newport Folk Festival this year. That energy from that set was described by organizer Jay Sweet as “crazy crackling from the moment I introduced them. Just a wave of applause that kept breaking. There was a half-second pause (when Parton was announced), then the shock wore off. Just this wave exploded! It was another miracle in the place where Dylan went electric, Brandi looked at me, and we started giggling.”

Lindsey Stirling also dropped a new project, propelling her to No. 70 for the week, largely thanks to 14,900 album sales. The artist is currently on tour in Germany, with a gig also planned in London in October.

Next week’s charts will include data for new releases from The Lumineers, Charli XCX, Korn, Brett Young, JPEGMAFIA, Devendra Banhart, Pixies, Puddle Of Mudd, Goo Goo Dolls, Chelsea Wolfe, and Supa Bwe.

Also be on the lookout for new projects from Blink-182, Zac Brown Band, Brittany Howard, Cashmere Cat, Gashi, Liam Gallagher, Colt Ford, Illogic, Fitz and the Tantrums, Pete Rock & Skyzoo, Kemba, Keane, M83 and Chastity Belt.