"Circles" is a song by American rapper Post Malone, released through Republic Records on August 30, 2019, as the third single from Malone's third studio albumHollywood's Bleeding. It reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 for the week of November 30, 2019, topping the chart for three weeks, marking Post Malone's fourth number-one song, as well as his first solo effort to top the chart. It has spent a record 39 weeks in the Hot 100's top 10.
"Circles" is a pop rock song consisting of a "bouncy, melancholy" melody, alongside a "gentle acoustic groove". The chorus has been described as "compulsory singalong". It is written in the key of C major, in common time, at a tempo of 120 beats per minute. It follows a chord structure of Cmaj7–Em/B–Fmaj7–Fm, followed by Cmaj7–Em/B–Fmaj7–G6.
Critical reception
Billboard described the song as being "backed by sunny acoustic guitars, swirling percussion and infectious melodies", and that while it has a "funky feel, the meaning is a bit more somber, detailing a relationship gone cold". R Dub, Z90.3 director of programming, told Billboard, "For me, the staying power of 'Circles' is due to a combination of an absolutely addicting, fun, emotional, and at the same time, non-fatiguing hook, combined with relatable lyrics. Who can't relate to going in circles in so many aspects of life? Young, old, rich, poor, black, white… We're all going through it".
Chart performance
On the chart dated November 30, 2019, "Circles" became Post Malone's fourth number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 and his first as the only credited artist on a track. It also marked his second Hot 100 number one of 2019, following "Sunflower" with Swae Lee, which led the chart in January. On the chart dated May 2, 2020, "Circles" broke the record for the most weeks spent in the Hot 100's top 10; 34 weeks surpassing his own song, "Sunflower", Maroon 5 and Cardi B's "Girls Like You", and Ed Sheeran's "Shape of You", which all logged 33 weeks each in that region. It simultaneously passed the latter for the most weeks spent in the top 10 from a song's debut. It later extended its record to 39 weeks. Additionally, it became the first song to spend 30 weeks in the top 10 of Billboards Mainstream Top 40 radio airplay chart, where it also ranked at number one for 10 weeks, becoming the first single by a solo male artist to achieve double-digit frames at number one on that chart. Elsewhere, the song also peaked at number one in Iceland, Malaysia and New Zealand, number two in Australia, Canada, Ireland, Norway, Singapore and Slovakia, number three in Czech Republic, Denmark, Lithuania, Slovenia and the UK, while reaching the top 10 in several other nations.
Lawsuit
Malone filed a lawsuit against songwriter Tyler Armes for "falsely claiming that he is a co-author of the musical composition contained in the 'Circles' track". He stated that although Armes was present when the track was recorded on August 8, 2018, he did not make contributions to the track. According to the complaint from Malone, he continued to work with songwriters Walsh, Gunesberk and Bell in subsequent sessions after August 8, while Armes wasn't present in either of those sessions.
Music video
The music video, directed by Colin Tilley, was released on September 3, 2019. Post plays a knight in armor who wanders across a war-torn rural countryside, watched through a magic mirror by a strange woman with no mouth. As of July 2020, the video has reached over 250 million views.
