Mariah and Boyz II Men couldn’t do it. Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee, and Justin Bieber couldn’t do it. But Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus have!
The rapper and the country singer have managed to make history by having their track, “Old Town Road” become the very first song to reach 17 weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
The single has not had the easiest run.
Earlier this year, Billboard withdrew it from its charts, claiming that it did not include enough Country elements to qualify inclusion on the Country charts. Lil Nas X then re-recorded a version with Billy Ray Cyrus which was released in April and soared to number one where it has stayed ever since.
The previous longest-held title of 16 weeks belonged to Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men for the 1995 song “One Sweet Day” and the Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee, and Justin Bieber collaboration “Despacito” which came out in 2017.
“I wanna say thank you to every single person who has made this moment possible for me. We just broke the record for the longest-running number-one song of all time,” the 20-year-old said in a video message to fans.
Well done, Lil Nas!
