Lil Nas X has made history again with his uber popular single “Old Town Road.” This time, the song has become the longest consecutive No.1 song at the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
“Old Town Road” has been No 1. For 17 weeks, Billboard announced Monday.
The achievement also means that 20-year-old Lil Nas X, born Montero Lamar Hill and who identifies as gay and came out to fans June 30, has made another historic first.
“Old Town Road” is the longest running No.1 hit by an artist who publicly identifies as part of the LGBTQ community.
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After he officially broke the record Monday, Lil Nas X posted a simple message on Twitter: “YEEE TF HAWWW” with emojis of a running horse and a lightning bolt.
About 30 minutes later, the rapper shared his feelings in an emoji filled Tweet.
“This song has changed my life and the way I see the world around me in less than a year,” he wrote. “Thank you to every single person who has been a part of this journey. As I said before, it’s just the beginning.”
— nope (@LilNasX) July 29, 2019
The genre-bending summer smash single crushed 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 stayed at No. 1 for 16 weeks. The previous gay record holder was Elton John’s “Candle in the Wind 1997/Something About the Way You Look Tonight,” which was No. 1 for 14 weeks. Remixes have been vital to the success of “Old Town Road.” Billboard calculates remixes and the original versions of the track together in a single chart listing. “Old Town Road” was first launched in 2018 on the social video-sharing app TikTok. Since then, Billy Ray Cyrus, Diplo, Young Thug and Mason Ramsey, and the Korean pop group BTS have remixed the song and given it new flavors.
