Post Malone track gives ESPN college football a majestic kickoff

Hype video teases storylines for 2023-24 season

Published On
Aug 01, 2023
Side by side image of Post Malone and a college football player

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There’s cheerleaders and marching bands—and then there’s Post Malone. The artist’s new cut, “Something Real,” makes for a majestic anthem for the new season of college football on ESPN.

A new hype video released today signals the coming of the 2023-24 season and marks the 10th straight year that ESPN has celebrated its college football programming with an anthem from a popular artist. Previous artists include Fall Out Boy, Lauren Alaina, X Ambassadors, Thirty Seconds to Mars, Imagine Dragons, Judah & the Lion, Juice WRLD & Marshmello, DJ Snake & Rick Ross and Yungblud.

 

The video introduces the storylines going into the 2023-24 season including, “Can Alabama Bounce Back?”, “Georgia—can they do it again?” and “Why Caleb Williams can win back-to-back Heismans.”

“Collaborating with ESPN to use my music to get fans excited for college football is a cool feeling,” Post Malone said. “‘Something Real’ captures the emotion and passion the sport represents, and the excitement fans feel each and every week, and it only adds to me being ready for football season to get here.”

 “Something Real” launched nationally as a featured track from Malone’s new album “Austin” on July 28. In addition to the ESPN-produced hype trailer, Post Malone will be highlighting the collaboration across his social channels. ESPN college football coverage will also include music from Kidd G, Glaive, Jacob Collier and Rae Sremmurd, among others.

“ESPN has always celebrated the unique bond between music and college football,” Curtis Friends, senior director of marketing for ESPN, said in a press release. “For 10 seasons, the ESPN college football music anthem has been a foundation of our college football promotion, growing and evolving as the sport does. Post Malone is a renowned artist whose music is as diverse and passionate as the college football fanbase—and ‘Something Real’ is a track that lives up to the dynamic season ahead of us.”

ESPN will feature several marquee matchups to kick off the 2023 college football season, including nearly 60 games slated for Week 1 alone. The opening week will start with Florida at Utah (Aug. 31, 8 p.m. ET on ESPN), followed by South Carolina vs. North Carolina (Sept. 2, 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC) and the Camping World Kickoff as LSU and Florida State face off Sept. 3 at  7:30 p.m. ET on ABC).