Lil Nas X’s left-field hit ‘Old Town Road’ is now the longest-running Billboard Hot 100 single of all time. The track has just celebrated its 17th week at No.1. All hail Lil Nas, our yeehaw king, we do not deserve you.
The track has knocked off the previous record of 16 weeks first achieved by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men’s 1995 classic ‘One Sweet Day’ — which was later matched by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s ‘Despactio’ in 2017.
Lil Nas X reflected on the history of the track in an emotional, and emoji-embellished post on Instagram.
“Did I know it would become the longest-running number 1 song of all time? No!,” he shared. “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!”
Nas then delved into the production of the track, revealing “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. When suddenly I came across a country-trap sounding masterpiece. I immediately knew I would make something special out of it”
Nobody deserves this enormous success quite like Lil Nas, who has brought us nothing but pure, unadulterated joy.
In a recent interview with BBC Breakfast, Lil Nas X delved into his decision to come out on Twitter on Pride Day. Nas explained that he “kind of revealed” news to his followers via a series of cryptic tweets, but he acknowledged that he had never planned to come out publicly.
“It’s just something I was considering never doing, ever. Taking to the grave,” he explained. “But I don’t wanna live my entire life—especially how I got to where I’m at—not doing what I wanna do.”
Watch: Lil Nas X – Old Town Road ft. Billy Ray Cyrus
