Old Town Road

"Old Town Road" is the debut mainstream single by the American rapper and singer Lil Nas X, first released independently in December 2018. After gaining popularity, the single was re-released by Columbia Records in March 2019. He also recorded a remix with American country singer Billy Ray Cyrus, which was released on April 5, 2019. Both were included on Lil Nas X's second studio extended play (EP), 7 (2019). The song was recorded on December 2, 2018, at CinCoYo, based in Atlanta, Georgia. The song has been widely viewed as "country rap", a somewhat rare musical style not often heard in the mainstream prior to this song's release. Dutch record producer YoungKio composed the instrumental and made it available for purchase online in 2018. It features a sample of "34 Ghosts IV" by the American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails. The sample was placed behind trap-style Roland TR-808 drums and bass. Lil Nas X purchased the instrumental for US$30 and recorded "Old Town Road" in one day. At the time, he had been living with his sister after dropping out of college; his real-world struggles were an influence on some of the lyrics. The song initially gained popularity on the video sharing app TikTok and eventually entered the Billboard charts in March 2019. The song also reached number 19 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart before the magazine disqualified it from the chart on the grounds that it did not "fit" the genre, sparking a debate on what constitutes the "definition" of country music. Though "Old Town Road" did not re-enter any country charts, both versions of the song collectively peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, remaining at the top for a record-breaking 19 consecutive weeks (later tied with Shaboozey's "A Bar Song (Tipsy)" and surpassed by Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You"); the remix peaked at no. 50 on Billboard's Country Airplay chart. One or more versions of "Old Town Road" have topped the national singles charts in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, and have charted in the top 10 in various other international markets. The song was certified diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in October 2019 for selling 10 million total units in the United States, the fastest song to be certified diamond. It was also certified Diamond in Canada, France, Poland, and Germany. At the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards, the remix (featuring Billy Ray Cyrus) was nominated for Record of the Year and won Best Pop Duo/Group Performance and Best Music Video. In October 2019, Columbia Records and Sony Music Entertainment won the Music & Sound Recordings Award from SAG-AFTRA for "work that exemplifies equal access" to LGBTQ individuals and "other misrepresented or underrepresented groups." In September 2021, the song set the record for the second-highest certified song in history by the RIAA (behind Post Malone and Swae Lee's "Sunflower"), at 16× platinum in the United States—meaning it accumulated 16 million equivalent song units. The single has sold over 18 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling singles of all time. Rolling Stone named it the 490th greatest song of all time in the 2021 edition of its 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list.