While critical consensus is still firmly against the Dallas superstar, Post Malone is likely one of the three most popular musicians in America at this instant. Just look at “Wow.” — a loose single, unmoored from any sort of full-length project, yet currently sitting at Number Five on the Billboard Hot 100 three months after its release and, crucially, without a video.
The song — which also recently received an unexpected jolt from Roddy Ricch on its remix — will likely only rise from its current lofty position. On Wednesday, Post Malone released the video for the track, which begins by quoting Charles Buxton (according to Wikipedia, a British brewer, politician and writer who lived in the nineteenth century): “You will never find time for anything. If you want time, you must make it.” From there, it launches into a behind-the-scenes look at Post Malone’s life (it features travel, shooting other music videos, rehearsing for performances and beer pong).
About halfway through the video, Post cedes the spotlight to a man named Mike Alancourt, who garnered some attention (and an appearance on Ellen) after going viral on Instagram for dancing to “Wow.” To someone not steeped in knowledge of Post Malone’s greater lore, it’s a deeply confusing digression.
But, as Charles Buxton once reportedly said, “Experience shows that success is due less to ability that to zeal.”