Lil Nas X has officially broken the Billboard record for having the longest no. 1 song in history with his smash hit “Old Town Road”!
The country trap song broke the Billboard Hot 100 chart record after dominating the top spot for 17 consecutive weeks, 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.
The 20-year-old rappe knew history was in the making after he tweeted out 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
After he officially broke the record, Lil Nas X posted a simple message: “YEEE TF HAWWW.”
YEEE TF HAWWW 🐎⚡️
— nope (@LilNasX) July 29, 2019
The rapper returned to share a heartfelt and emoji-laden Twitter post about his journey as a “struggling artist” living in his sister’s house.
“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 Atlanta natives groundbreaking hit song comes after he was banished from the Hot Country Songs chart back in March for not embracing “enough elements of today’s country music.” The song’s removal from the country charts launched a nationwide debate about the lack of diversity in the country music industry.
“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?’”
The young rapper plans to celebrate the major accolade by bathing and showing love to Mariah Carey.
“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.”
