Post Malone got the Phoenix Open party started with a hit-filled Concert in the Coliseum

Post Malone was two songs deep in a hit-filled 90-minute set on the iconic 16th hole at the Phoenix Open's Concert in the Coliseum, having set the tone with "Better Now" and "Wow.," when he took a moment to address the crowd in his leopard-spot short shorts and a T-shirt.

"Happy Early Valentine's Day, ladies and gentlemen," he began in a crowd-pleasing monologue, going on to joke about having beaten Tiger Woods on that same course, acknowledge the fact that "it is (expletive) cold" and tell the fans, "I hope everybody is having half the fun that I am tonight."

It's doubtful many people anywhere in this entire world were having half the fun Malone was having in the course of that performance, throwing his entire body into the proceedings, eventually losing the T-shirt and frequently taking a drink from the trusty Red Solo Cup he balanced on his head at one point.

The concert Saturday, Feb. 3, appears to be Malone's first time on stage since New Year's Eve. And he was clearly in the mood to reconnect with fans as he made his way through any number of his biggest hits, including all four songs he's taken to the top on Billboard's Hot 100 — "Psycho," "I Fall Apart," "Circles" and "Sunflower," the last of which he introduced with "This song just went 20 times platinum."

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He's a genre-defiant enigma whose music draws on everything from R&B and hip-hop to acoustic folk and heavy metal.

Highlights ranged from a suitably brooding rendition of "Mourning" to the deeply soulful, acoustic-guitar-driven folk of "Feeling Whitney" (one of several highlights that benefited greatly from the fact that his touring band includes to violinists and two cellists) to the cacophonous crescendo that underscored the raw emotion of "Too Young."

He didn't sing "America the Beautiful." That's next week at the Super Bowl.

Malone remains an entertaining presence, making a heart sign above his head on "Better Now," joking more than once about the spinning stage ("I'm not even that drunk but the world is (expletive) spinning right now"), pointing out "This is the closest I'll get to having people watch me play golf" and frequently underselling the strength of his catalog with self-effacing humor.

After bringing the set to a crowd-pleasing climax with "White Iverson," he introduced "Congratulations" with "I have, like, three good ones. This one's one of 'em."

Post Malone dedicated an emotional 'Too Young' to his baby girl

But for all the fun he appeared to be having, half the reason he's been able to connect to fans the way he has is that he so often speaks to the human condition in moments as vulnerable as "Too Young," with its chorus of "I don't wanna die too young."

He introduced that song at TPC Scottsdale with "I have a beautiful baby girl. She's almost two. And this song hits a little bit more harder now."

He saved his most impassioned speech for the end of the night, as he was setting up "Congratulations," noting that he's 28 now and a decade deep in this career.

After thanking the fans for their support, he told them, "Whatever you wanted to do in this (expletive) life and this (expletive) world, do it the best that you (expletive) can and do it your (expletive) way."

He's certainly taken that advice to heart. And look. He made it.

Ernest had the Post Malone crowd in his corner at the Phoenix Open

Most people wouldn't necessarily think to have a country singer open for a guy like Post Malone, but Ernest had the crowd that packed the Concert in the Coliseum in his corner from the time he hit the stage in his Arizona Coyotes cap and set the tone for his performance with the hardcore honky-tonk of "This Fire."

He had the crowd singing along with the pedal steel guitar-driven "Drunk with My Friends" ("I got drunk drunk drunk with my friends"), covered one of country music's hardest-hitting ballads (the George Jones classic "He Stopped Loving Her Today") and introduced his breakthrough single, "Flower Shops," with "It proved to me that traditional country music is alive and well."

And if you're looking to prove that traditional country music is alive and well, it doesn't hurt that "Flower Shops" includes a guest appearance by the biggest-selling country artist of the decade, Morgan Wallen.

He and Wallen have co-written several highlights of those last two Wallen albums, from "Somebody's Problem" to "Cowgirls" and "Wasted on You," and Ernest made sure to include those in a set that played to his considerable strengths as both a singer and a songwriter.

Post Malone 2024 tour setlist: Every song he did at the Phoenix Open

Here's every song Post Malone did at the Concert in the Coliseum at the Phoenix Open.

• "Better Now"

• "Wow."

• "Zack and Codeine"

• "Psycho"

• "Goodbyes"

• “Night”

• “I Like You (A Happier Song)”

• "Mourning"

• "Take What You Want"

• "Over Now"

• "Rockstar"

• "Feeling Whitney"

• "Stay”

• "I Fall Apart"

• "Wrapped Around Your Finger"

• "Circles"

• "Too Young"

• "White Iverson"

• "Congratulations"

• "Sunflower"

• "Chemical"

Ernest 2024 tour setlist: Here's every song he did in Phoenix

Here's every song Ernest did at the Concert in the Coliseum at the Phoenix Open.

• “This Fire”

• “Wild Wild West”

• “Kiss of Death”

• “Tennessee Queen”

• “Son of a Sinner”

• “Drunk With My Friends”

• “Sugar”

• “Wasted on You”

• “Somebody’s Problem”

• “He Stopped Loving Her Today”

• “Slow Dancing in a Burning Room”

• “Feet Wanna Run”

• “Bottle’s Bout Dead”

• “Heartless”

• “Cowgirls”

• “Flower Shops”

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix Open: Post Malone rocked out with his Concert in the Coliseum