Lil Nas X's 'Old Town Road' breaks Billboard record for longest No. 1 in history
Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” is riding his horse right into the history books, breaking the record for the longest-running streak at the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
It's official, @LilNasX's "Old Town Road," featuring @billyraycyrus, has now spent more weeks at No. 1 on the #Hot100 than any other song in history, with 17 weeks.
It breaks the record previously held by "One Sweet Day" & "Despacito."— billboard charts (@billboardcharts) July 29, 2019
The genre-defying summer smash has dominated the Hot 100 chart for its 17th consecutive week, surpassing previous record-holders “Despacito” by Daddy Yankee, Luis Fonsi, and Justin Bieber, and 1995′s “One Sweet Day” by Boyz II Men and Mariah Carey, which both topped out at 16 weeks.
— nope (@LilNasX) July 29, 2019
The 20-year-old rapper, who’s blocked competition like Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish from securing the top spot in recent months, seemed all but certain that he’d reign once again, writing on Twitter last week, “what we doing to celebrate the billboard record when we break it y’all.”
what we doing to celebrate the billboard record when we break it y’all 🤨
— nope (@LilNasX) July 20, 2019
In a separate tweet, he went onto thank everybody who’s streamed “Old Town Road” since its release.
“ITS BEEN A LONG JOURNEY & WHETHER WE HIT IT OR NOT I APPRECIATE & LOVE ALL OF YOU!!” he tweeted.
Remixes have been integral to the country-trap single’s success, as Billboard calculates remixes and the original versions of the track together in a single listing on the chart, as long as they meet specific guidelines.
First launching on the social video-sharing app TikTok in 2018, “Old Town Road” has since been officially remixed four separate times with artists like Billy Ray Cyrus, Diplo, Young Thug and Mason Ramsey and most recently the Korean pop group BTS putting their own spin on the single.
“Last one I PROMISSEE,” Lil Nas X tweeted on Wednesday after the dropping the latest remix with the popular boy band, titled “Seoul Town Road.”
The Atlanta-based rapper’s victory is all the more noteworthy given he was banished from the Hot Country Songs chart in late March for not embracing “enough elements of today’s country music.” The song’s removal jumpstarted conversations about gatekeeping in the country music industry and the erasure of black artists’ contributions to the genre.
“I had this idea in mind at first, but then as I went on to think about it, I was like, Maybe because [the] country [music industry] is guarded,” the rapper told Teen Vogue about the controversy. “You can have your country song with trap elements, but if it’s by known country artists, then it’s allowed. A black guy who raps comes along, and he’s on top of the country chart, it’s like, ‘What the fuck?’”
As for what he’ll do to mark the occasion, the rapper joked that he’s already got some big plans.
“Instead of doing my usual crying in the bathtub for five hours, I’ll cut it down to three,” he joked to TMZ, adding that he also “may buy Mariah Carey some roses and send them to her, cause I love her.”
This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
