Lil Nas X's 'Old Town Road' Tops Billboard Hot 100
Lil Nas X is riding to the top.
The Atlanta rapper’s viral sensation “Old Town Road” shoots from No. 15 to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 this week. The “country trap” song tops the Streaming Songs chart, with 46.6 million U.S. streams, and rises 11-3 on Digital Song Sales, with 22,000 downloads sold in the week ending April 4.
Taking to Twitter, the 20-year-old rapper celebrated his chart-topping success. “no matter what negative shit y’all tweet i’m going down in history lmaoo,” he tweeted, adding, “thank you to everybody who congratulated me i fuckin love y’all.”
no matter what negative shit y’all tweet i’m going down in history lmaoo
— nope (@LilNasX) April 8, 2019
thank you to everybody who congratulated me i fuckin love y’all
— nope (@LilNasX) April 8, 2019
Lil Nas X becomes the first artist unaccompanied by another act to top the Hot 100 on a first try since Cardi B, whose “Bodak Yellow (Money Moves)” spent three weeks at No. 1 in October 2017. He is also the first male artist (in a lead role) to top the Hot 100 in their first visit since Desiigner hit No. 1 with “Panda” in May 2016.
“Old Town Road,” which has racked up over 70 million global streams to date, charted on the Hot 100, Hot Country Songs, and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts before Billboard pulled it from the country charts, a decision that sparked controversy.
“The song is country trap. It’s not one, it’s not the other. It’s both. It should be on both,” Lil Nas X told TIME. “I believe whenever you’re trying something new, it’s always going to get some kind of bad reception.”
Just last week, Lil Nas X released the official remix to his genre-bending hit featuring country legend Billy Ray Cyrus.
Billboard Hot 100 Top 10
1. Lil Nas X – “Old Town Road”
2. Post Malone and Swae Lee – “Sunflower”
3. Ariana Grande – “7 Rings”
4. Post Malone – “Wow.”
5. Halsey – “Without Me”
6. Bruno Mars and Cardi B – “Please Me”
7. Billie Eilish – “Bad Guy”
8. Jonas Brothers – “Sucker”
9. Marshmello and Bastille – “Happier”
10. J. Cole – “Middle Child”