Lil Nas X Celebrates 'Old Town Road' Becoming the Longest-Running Number 1 Song on Billboard Chart
Lil Nas X is taking his horse to cloud nine!
On Monday, shortly after learning that his song “Old Town Road” featuring Billy Ray Cyrus had made history by becoming the longest-running number 1 single to ever top the Billboard Hot 100 Chart, the rapper celebrated his accomplishment on Instagram.
In a lengthy post, Lil Nas X, 20, acknowledged how he was a “struggling artist” less than a year ago but due to the hard work and perseverance he put into the country/rap track, his life has now drastically changed for the better.
The rapper also said he never would have expected the song to be as successful as it is — the tune has topped the charts for an unprecedented 17 weeks — and gave a shout out to his fans for making this unbelievable accomplishment happen.
“Last year in October, as a struggling artist starting to lose faith in what I could be, I went looking for beats on YouTube,” he began his post, which featured a series of screenshots about the success of his song, as well as a sweet video of him and Cyrus, 57, in the studio together.
“I remember clicking on so many generic sounding beats trying to find the right one for me,” Lil Nas X recalled. “When suddenly I came across a country-trap sounding masterpiece. I immediately knew I would make something special out of it”
At the time, Lil Nas X said he had been living at his sister’s house for months while promoting his music online, but because he wasn’t “helping her out much,” she had told him he needed to move out soon.
“I was so upset! I used it as motivation for the song!” he explained in the post. “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!!”
It was at that moment that the rapper said the hook of the chart-topping song came to him.
“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!” Lil Nas X recalled. “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!!”
After finishing the basic setup of the tune, Lil Nas X said was out of his sister’s house but now living with his brother. He then went into the studio to record the track and by December 3, it had been released.
“Did I know it would become the longest running number 1?? song of all time? NO! but I am so thankful that this blessing has been placed upon me,” he shared. “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! ????????” Lil Nas X finished.
His post prompted a number of congratulatory messages from fans and fellow stars, but none perhaps more special than from Mariah Carey, who previously held the title for 16 weeks in 1995-96 for “One Sweet Day” with Boyz II Men.
“Sending love & congrats to @LilNasX on breaking one of the longest-running records in music history!” she tweeted along with a photoshopped image of Carey passing the torch to Lil Nas X.
“We’ve been blessed to hold this record with a song that means a great deal to @BoyzIIMen and myself and has touched so many. Keep living your best life!” the pop singer added.
Lil Nas X then excitedly shared a screengrab of the message to his Instagram and captioned it, “LEGEND??”
RELATED: Lil Nas X Wants Mariah Carey to Collaborate with Him on a Remix of ‘Old Town Road’
Besides Carey and Boyz II Men’s track, “Old Town Road” also displaced 2018’s “Despacito” by Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee, and Justin Bieber for the longest-running number 1 single in history, according to the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Since its release in Dec. 2018, the song has been nearly everywhere, from the radio to movie trailers, to social media.
Lil Nas X, in particular, has also stayed busy, visiting an Ohio elementary school, collaborating with other artists on remixed versions of the track, and pitching ideas to work with Dolly Parton and Carey on additional remixes.
The Atlanta musician recently signed to Columbia Records. His EP, 7, followed his self-released project NASARATI from 2018. It features Cardi B, Ryan Tedder and, of course, the Cyrus remix of “Old Town Road.”