Post Malone to Receive Hal David Starlight Award at 2023 Songwriters Hall of Fame Gala

Post Malone is slated to receive the Hal David Starlight Award at the 2023 Songwriters Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Dinner, which will be held Thursday, June 15, at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York.

SHOF Chairman Nile Rodgers said in a statement, “Over the last few years I have had the pleasure of watching Posty become one of the biggest artists in the world and he’s done it by writing phenomenal songs. Way before Post Malone was a superstar, he was a great songwriter, and this is his first step into the Songwriters Hall of Fame!”

According to the Songwriters Hall of Fame, Hal David Starlight Award recipients are “gifted young songwriters who are making a significant impact in the music industry with their original songs.” The award is meant as a balance to the Johnny Mercer Award, which is a career capper for a legendary writer. Tim Rice is this year’s winner of the Johnny Mercer Award.

Post Malone is the third recipient of the Starlight Award who hails from the world of hip-hop, following Drake, the 2011 recipient, and Lil Nas X, who received the honor last year.

Post Malone, a Universal Music Publishing Group writer, has amassed 10 Grammy nominations – though he has yet to win. His nominations include three consecutive nods for record of the year, for “Rockstar” (featuring 21 Savage), “Sunflower” (a collab with Swae Lee) and “Circles.” The latter song was also nominated for song of the year – Post Malone’s only songwriting nod to date. Posty (real name: Austin Post) co-wrote that silky smash with Louis Bell, Adam Feeney, Kaan Gunesberk and Billy Walsh. He has also nabbed two album of the year nods for beerbongs & bentleys and Hollywood’s Bleeding.

“Rockstar,” “Sunflower” and “Circles” all reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, as did “Psycho” (featuring Ty Dolla $ign). Both of the aforementioned albums had long runs at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.

Inductees at the 52nd Songwriters Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Dinner are Glen Ballard, Snoop Dogg, Gloria Estefan, Jeff Lynne, Teddy Riley and Liz Rose. (Sade Adu had to defer her induction due to a schedule change.)

Songwriters become eligible for SHOF induction 20 years after their first song gained wide exposure. None of the Starlight honorees (see complete list below) have yet been inducted, but many are expected to be as they reach that two-decade mark.

The Starlight Award is named in honor of Hal David, who teamed with Burt Bacharach to write dozens of pop hits from the late ‘50s to the early ‘70s. Bacharach and David were elected to the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1972 and received the Johnny Mercer Award in 1996. Their 1965 classic, “What the World Needs Now Is Love,” received the organization’s Towering Song award in 2004. It was voted into the National Recording Registry this year.

Bacharach and David received a trustees award from the Recording Academy in 1997. In 2012, they became the first songwriting team to win the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song.

David was chairman of the Songwriters Hall of Fame from 2000-10, and served as chairman emeritus from 2010 until his death in 2012. He was awarded the organization’s first Visionary Leadership Award in 2011.

Tickets for the Songwriters Hall of Fame event begin at $2,000 each and are available through Buckley Hall Events, 914-579-1000, and SHOF@buckleyhallevents.com. Net proceeds from the event will go toward the Songwriters Hall of Fame programs. Songwriters Hall of Fame is a 501(c)3 organization. Contributions are fully tax-deductible as provided by law. The non-deductible portion of each ticket is $215.

Here’s a complete list of past winners of the Hal David Starlight Award.