Ah, yes. The story of "Old Town Road." I know it well— A classic underdog tale I hope to tell my children some day. It all started last month, when 19-year-old Lil Nas X's country-rap single became a viral hit, owing much of its initial success to TikTok, where users tied the song to the wildly popular #yeehaw challenge.
"Old Country Road" entered the Billboard Hot 100, but was removed from their Hot Country Songs chart because they determined it wasn’t country enough. That's when Billy Ray Cyrus decided to swoop in and collaborate with Lil Nas X on a remix, hoping to legitimize the rapper's country credibility. Even before Cyrus' remix dropped, though, "Old Country Road" rocketed to #1 with the shortest chart-topping single since 1965. That gave Trent Reznor his first writing credit on a #1 song, since it sampled an obscure Nine Inch Nails instrumental. It came from the beats store of Dutch producer YoungKio, who Lil Nas X just met IRL for the first time.
Last night, Lil Nas X gave his first-ever live performance, playing country music fest Stagecoach alongside Cyrus and Diplo, who's having a yeehaw moment of his own (he recently announced a new country project, Thomas Wesley).
Diplo has also released his "Old Town Road" remix. Hear it below, where you can also watch footage of the performance
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https://twitter.com/billyraycyrus/status/1122762215193546757?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
A video for "Old Town Road" is also on the way.
i have had literally some of the best days of my life shooting this old town road video
— nope (@LilNasX) April 27, 2019
