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Michael Robert Henrion Posner ( ; born February 12, 1988) is an American singer, rapper, songwriter, and record producer from Detroit.For Posner's full name, see He signed with J Records in 2009 and released his debut single "Cooler Than Me" the following year. The song peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100 and received septuple platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). His follow-up single, "Please Don't Go" peaked within the top 20 of the chart and received triple platinum certification; both songs preceded the release of his debut album, 31 Minutes to Takeoff (2010), which peaked at number 12 on the Billboard 200 and received mixed critical reception. In 2014, Posner parted ways with J Records in favor of Island Records.
In 2015, an EDM remix of Posner's song "I Took a Pill in Ibiza" peaked within the top ten on the charts in 27 countries, and the top five of the Billboard Hot 100. Its success led to the release of his second studio album, At Night, Alone (2016), which peaked at number eight on the Billboard 200 and was met with positive critical reception. His third album, A Real Good Kid was released in 2019. His fourth album (2020), was met with continued praise despite failing to chart.
Along with his recording career, he has served as a record producer and songwriter for acts including Justin Bieber, Big Sean, Maroon 5, Iggy Azalea, Big Time Rush, Austin Mahone, Nick Jonas, Cher Lloyd, and Labrinth; he co-wrote "Boyfriend" by Justin Bieber and "Sugar" by Maroon 5, among others. In 2017, Posner released his first book of poetry, Tear Drops & Balloons. He is also one-half of alternative hip-hop duo Mansionz, completed by Florida rapper blackbear.
Posner's father, Jon, died on January 11, 2017; his mother is Roberta Henrion; and his sister, Emily Henrion Posner, is a civil rights attorney.
Posner's third mixtape One Foot Out the Door was released in October 2009. The mixtape was accompanied by a web series of the same name which aired bi-weekly from September to December. His debut album, 31 Minutes to Takeoff was released in August 2010. The first single, "Cooler Than Me" peaked at number 6 on the US Billboard Hot 100. He performed at Bonnaroo, a music festival, and on the 2010s Warped Tour. The second and third singles, "Please Don't Go" and "Bow Chicka Wow Wow" reached the top 20 and 30 on the Hot 100 respectively. The latter was released with an added verse by rapper Lil Wayne. Posner won a 2011's ASCAP Award from the publishing organization for "Cooler Than Me". On October 7, 2011, RCA Music Group announced that it was disbanding J Records along with Arista Records and Jive Records. With the shutdown, Posner (and all other artists previously signed to the three labels) will release his future material on the RCA Records brand.
On March 4, 2014, Posner announced the Unplugged tour. Running seven dates in the major US markets, the tour highlighted music new and old from his discography, including some new material from Pages, while also giving fans a shot at learning new information from him through the stories and Q&A sessions interspersed with the tunes. The unplugged sets featured little more than him on predominantly acoustic instruments, save for the potential live production on "a song or two"—much like, he says, how much of his music starts. Posner began the tour on March 31 at the World Cafe in Philadelphia, wrapping up on April 10 at The Mint in Los Angeles. The string of dates included a hometown show in Posner's native Detroit, his first such show, he says, in around two years. In an interview with Billboard, Mike revealed that he had signed with Island Records and that Pages would be replaced with another project. He also said that he would like to let the world hear his recordings from Sky High and Pages.
"I Took a Pill in Ibiza" was remixed by Norwegian production duo SeeB, whose version of the song has over one billion streams on Spotify MIKE POSNER's NEW ALBUM At Night, Alone. 'DROPS' – FROM WEATHER BALLOON 20 MILES UP IN SPACE!! Clizbeats.com. May 9, 2016. Retrieved May 12, 2016 and a charting position of two on the Global Top 50 Chart and five on the USA Top 50 Chart. The SeeB remix topped the charts in the Netherlands, Ireland, Norway, the United Kingdom, and the Dance/Mix Show Airplay of American Billboard; it peaked within the top ten of the charts in Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States.
On December 18, 2015, a remix EP of The Truth was released. It featured SeeB's remix of "I Took a Pill in Ibiza", as well as a remix by JordanXL of the single "Be As You Are". On March 17, 2016, Posner announced his second album, At Night, Alone, which was released on May 6, 2016, and featured both originals and remixes of "I Took a Pill in Ibiza" and "Be As You Are". David Jeffries of AllMusic noted an improvement for Posner in the album, writing "this might not yet be the ultimate showcase for his talents, but At Night, Alone is both a welcome return and a significant step forward." On February 17, 2017, Posner announced that the third single from the album would be a remix by American electronic duo Grey of his song "In the Arms of a Stranger". In 2017, he began to explore new ground. Not only did he release a book of poetry, Teardrops and Balloons, on March 17, but he also put out a new collaboration with American singer blackbear under the name Mansionz. A soulful hip hop project with spoken word influence, the song was a collaboration with rapper Spark Master Tape titled "Stfu". Mansionz is signed to Island Records and has released three singles, "Stfu" (featuring Spark Master Tape), "Rich White Girls", and "Dennis Rodman" (featuring Dennis Rodman). The duo's self-titled debut full-length album was released on March 24, 2017, and featured appearances from Soren Bryce, G-Eazy, Cyhi The Prynce, Snooze God, Spark Master Tape, and Rodman.
Posner was featured on Nick Jonas' 2017 single "Remember I Told You", the second collaboration between Posner and Jonas. The track also featured English singer Anne-Marie. On January 22, 2018, Posner announced a poetry album entitled I was born in detroit on a very, very, very, very, very, very, very cold day, which was released on January 26, 2018. In September 2018, he released "Song About You", the lead single from his third studio album, A Real Good Kid; the album was released on January 18, 2019. He released a fourth mixtape, Keep Going, on October 9, 2019, to commemorate his trek across the country. On December 18, 2020, he released his fourth studio album, a rap-opera type album titled Operation: Wake Up.
On March 6, 2020, Posner endorsed Bernie Sanders for president in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries. In May 2021, Posner traveled to Nepal although a US State Department travel advisory warned people of a massive COVID-19 outbreak in the country. In Nepal, he traveled to the base camp of Mount Everest and sang for climbers in the midst of a localized COVID-19 outbreak at base camp. He was described in Outside as "flaunting the rules with abandon" and being part of "a major super-spreader event". On June 1 2021, at 4:35am, he summited Mount Everest with a team composed of guide Jon Kedrowski and two Sherpa people (locals who serve as porters and guides) Dawa Chirring Sherpa and Dawa Dorje Sherpa. Posner used his climb to raise $250,000 for the Detroit Justice Center.
On July 28, 2025, Posner began hiking the Continental Divide Trail — a 3,100-mile route from Canada to Mexico — alongside Dr. Jon Kedrowski, who previously guided him on his 2021 Mount Everest climb. The project, informally known as The Long F*cking Walk, follows the Rocky Mountains and is being documented through Posner’s social media channels.
Promotional
Opening act
| 2010 | WHTZ | Best New Artist | Himself | ||
| MTV Europe Music Awards | Best Push Act | ||||
| 2016 | MTV Video Music Award | Best Electronic Video | "I Took a Pill in Ibiza" | ||
| MTV Europe Music Awards | Best Song | ||||
| 2017 | Grammy Awards | Song of the Year | |||
| iHeartRadio Music Awards | Dance Song of the Year | ||||
| Best Music Video |
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