Lil Nas X’s ‘Old Town Road’ rockets to No. 1 following controversy

Lil Nas X has launched himself to the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with his debut and viral hit Old Town Road.

After being kicked off the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart last week, the 20-year-old rapper is quite literally back on top — this time, on a completely different chart.

The country-trap song was the source of a major controversy after Billboard decided it did “not embrace enough elements of today’s country music to chart in its current version.”

After enlisting Billy Ray Cyrus for a remix version of the song, Old Town Road recirculated across the globe, and both versions began to climb the charts once more.

The original Old Town Road earned the No. 1 spot on Monday and now holds the title for top Hot 100 song in the week of April 13, 2019.

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The remix with Cyrus is already expected to take its place next week. The iconic country star paid a visit to the rapper’s studio last week to help add more elements of country suitable to Billboard’s standards.

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READ MORE: Billy Ray Cyrus joins Lil Nas X in genre-bending ‘Old Town Road’ remix

Lil Nas X dropped the horse-ridin’ cowboy anthem only last December. It was his fourth independent release overall. Everything prior was released to his YouTube account.

The banjo-sampled trap beat became a phenomenon on TikTok, among various other social media apps — it even samples a 2008 Nine Inch Nails track, 34 Ghosts IV.

Old Town Road originally landed a spot on not only Billboard’s Hot 100 list but the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Country Songs charts.

https://twitter.com/billyraycyrus/status/1114299875359887360

It’s currently unclear whether Billboard will make an exception on its country charts to allow room for the brand-new remix.

Old Town Road (feat. Billy Ray Cyrus) is now available on all major streaming platforms.

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READ MORE: Billboard removes black artist Lil Nas X from the country chart, sparking controversy

Thanks to all the buzz around Lil Nas X, the Atlanta-based rapper has just been signed to Columbia Records and is currently working on his debut album.

As of this writing, he has no plans to go out on tour.