Grammys 2020: Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus Team up With Mason Ramsey, BTS for ‘Old Town Road’ All-Stars

Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus just brought down the house at the 2020 Grammys award show, teaming up with BTS, Diplo, and Mason Ramsey for an epic “Old Town Road” all-stars performance. Undoubtedly, “Old Town Road” was the biggest song of 2019, and it may likely go down in history as one of the biggest songs of all-time.

The tune was somewhat of an underdog hit, however, as after it initially debuted on Billboard’s country music charts, it was taken out of the genre after many country music fans and industry insiders argued that it is more hip-hop or rap than it is country.

Cyrus expressed his love for the song, and then later appeared on its remix, which is the version that went on to be so successful. Previously, Lil Nas X took to Instagram to share the story of the song, as well as his appreciation for all the support it’s received.

“Last year in October, as a struggling artist starting to lose faith in what I could be, I went looking for beats on YouTube. I remember clicking on so many generic sounding beats trying to find the right one for me,” he recalled. “When suddenly I came across a country-trap sounding masterpiece. I immediately knew I would make something special out of it!”

“My sister told me I had little time left before I had to leave her house after being there for months promoting my music online and not helping her out much,” he added. “I was so upset! I used it as motivation for the song! I jokingly/seriously saw myself as a loner cowboy needing to run away from it all! I went out on my sister’s back porch and listened to the beat OVER & OVER & OVER!!”

“Then it came to me!! In my best singing voice I sung ‘YEAHHH IM GONNA TAKE MY HORSE TO THE OLD TOWN ROAD IM GONNA RIDEEEE TIL I CANT NO MORE’ I LOVED IT ALREADY! I started to work on it EVERY SINGLE DAY. It needed to be funny, it needed to be catchy, it needed to be hip hop, it needed to be country, & it needed to be short!! By the time I was finished setting it up I was out of my sister’s crib and at my brothers place,” Lil Nas X continued.

“On Dec. 2nd, I went into the studio & recorded ‘OLD TOWN ROAD’ & put it out the exact same day!! Did I know it would become the longest running number one song of all time? NO!‼️ But I am so thankful that this blessing has been placed upon me. This song has changed my life and the way I see the world around me in less than a year. Thank you to every single person who has been apart of this journey. As I said before, it’s just the beginning,” the rapper concluded his statement.

The Grammys air Sunday, Jan. 26 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.