Lil Nas X Breaks Long-Standing Billboard Record With ‘Old Town Road’

The only song everyone is listening to now appears to be Lil Nas X‘s smash hit “Old Town Road,” as the song broke a huge record on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The remix featuring Billy Ray Cyrus has now spent more weeks at the top of the 60-year-old chart than any other song, breaking a record held by both Mariah Carey and Luis Fonsi.

“Old Town Road” has been No. 1 on the chart for 17 weeks. That’s one week more than the previous record set by Carey and Boyz II Men’s “One Sweet Day” in 1995-1996. In 2017, Fonsi, Daddy Yankee and Justin Bieber matched that feat with “Despacito” in 2017.

The Hot 100 data is calculated by mixing all U.S. streaming, radio airplay and digital sales data.

“Old Town Road” is also at No. 1 on the Streaming Songs chart for a 17th week, breaking the 16-week record “Despacito” set. Through the past week, the song had 72.5 million streams in the U.S., down just 16 percent from the previous chart week, according to Nielsen Music.

“Old Town Road” also holds the record for the most streams in a single week with 143 million streams during the week the Cyrus remix was released. The Cyrus remix was been the version of the song at the top of the Hot 100 chart for 16 of its 17 weeks.

Lil Nas X has already released four remixes of the song, each featuring different artists. The latest features BTS singer RM, and was released at the end of the latest tracking week, which ended on July 25. Titled “Old Town Road (Seoul Town Road Remix),” this version will make a bigger impact on the Hot 100 in next week’s chart. Other remixes have featured Young Thug, Mason Ramsey and Diplo.

Sensing that the number of remixes has become a punchline, Lil Nas X tweeted “last one i PROMISSEE” before the “Seoul Town” mix was released.

“Old Town Road” also notched a 13th week on the Digital Dongs Sales chart with 46,000 downloads, up 1 percent over the previous week. The song is down on the Radio Songs chart, coming in at No. 14 with 47 million audience impressions.

The song is also at the top of the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, Hot Rap Songs and Songs of the Summer chart. It has been the only song at the top of the Songs of the Summer chart since the 2019 chart launched after Memorial Day.

“Old Town Road” was controversial when it was first released, as Billboard pulled the song from its country charts. Cyrus was the first major country music artist to voice his support for the song, even before recording the hit remix.

“This song has been a uniter not a divider,” Cyrus recently said of the song. “I’m giving God the glory now for allowing me the gift to be part of such a special song. It’s a unique moment in time where people from all over the world and all walks of life find they have more in common than they do different. It’s a moment we’ve all shared and I’m grateful for it.”

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