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Billy Ray Cyrus just remixed Lil Nas X's 'Old Town Road' and everyone is losing it
5 April 2019, 16:37
Lil Nas X released a remix of "Old Town Road" featuring Billy Ray Cyrus. The country legend has a verse on the viral hit and fans on social media are reacting to the iconic pairing.
Lil Nas X has released a remix of his viral hit song "Old Town Road" featuring Billy Ray Cyrus.
Lil Nas X teamed up with the country legend on a version of the poplar song which was removed from the Billboard Hot Country Song chart last week. In the new version of "Old Town Road", Billy Ray Cyrus sings the opening lyrics as well as a verse toward the end.
Lil Nas X - Old Town Road (feat. Billy Ray Cyrus) [Remix]
Read Billy Ray Cyrus' Old Town Road Lyrics:
Hat down, cross town, living like a rockstar
Spend a lot of money on my brand new guitar
Baby's gotta have her diamond rings and Fendi sports bra
Ridin' down Rodeo in my Maserati sports car
Got no stress, I've been through all that
I'm like a Marlborough man so I keep going back
Wish I could roll roll on back to that old town road
I wanna ride till I can't no more.
Billy Ray Cyrus and Lil Nas X officially hit the studio together and there is no disputing the fact that the "Old Town Road" remix is a serious banger.
Fans reacted to the remix on social media.
Old Town Road walking back up the billboard country charts now Billy Ray Cyrus is on it pic.twitter.com/h230d3eqYy
— 🦇🦇🦇 (@TayeCaymen) April 5, 2019
Me: I hate country mus...
— Gary B (@GaryBolton91) April 5, 2019
*Listens to Lil Nas X - Old Town Road (feat. Billy Ray Cyrus) [Remix]*
Also me: pic.twitter.com/Xo1kIpynd2
Lil Nas X walking back onto the Country Billboard charts with his Billy Ray Cyrus approved remix of "Old Town Road" pic.twitter.com/iGpDCTsV3N
— Joe Anthony Myrick (@WamBamItsJAM) April 5, 2019
now playing: old town road ft. billy ray cyrus pic.twitter.com/BxLP955XJd
— 𝕡𝕒𝕥𝕣𝕚𝕔𝕚𝕒 (@venuschaii) April 5, 2019
It still remains to be seen, however, if the song will make it back on the Billboard Hot Country Songs. In March, "Old Town Road" was yanked from the Hot Country Songs chart with Billboard releasing a statement to Rolling Stone explaining that the song did not "embrace enough elements of today’s country music to chart in its current version.”
This decision drew backlash online and sparked conversations on social media about race and country music.
Here's a timeline of the entire "Old Town Road" saga.
"Old Town Road" went from a viral hit to a bonafide chart topper. Here are all the major things that happened on Old Town Road's journey to the Billy Ray Cyrus collab.
December 2018 - Lil Nas X uploads the original version of "Old Town Road" to YouTube.
The song, produced by Youngkio, is set to images from Rockstar Games' Red Dead Redemption. "Old Town Road" was initially released independently, as Lil Nas X was not signed at the time.
As of April 2019, the YouTube video has been viewed over 23 million times.
Lil Nas X - Old Town Road (I Got The Horses In The Back) [Visualizer]
January/February 2019 - "Old Town Road" gains popularity on TikTok and goes viral.
"Old Town Road" soon goes viral, gaining popularity on TikTok with the Yeehaw challenge. TikTok users employ the song as the backdrop for a challenge that sees them change into their most "country" outfits.
When you’ve lived in yeehaw country for 2 weeks... #YeeHawChallenge pic.twitter.com/hqffoePA5N
— Ryan Hunt (@ryanhunt00) March 4, 2019
March 2019 - "Old Town Road" debuts on multiple Billboard charts.
"Old Town Road' entered the Billboard Hot 100, the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, and debuted at number 19 on the Hot Country Songs chart.
Around the same time, Lil Nas X is signed to Columbia Records.
2019!! pic.twitter.com/9Bs9MVMpR2
— nope (@LilNasX) March 22, 2019
Later in March 2019 - "Old Town Road" is pulled from the Hot Country Songs chart
In a statement to Rolling Stone, Billboard explained why they removed "Old Town Road" from its Hot Country chart.
“While ‘Old Town Road’ incorporates references to country and cowboy imagery, it does not embrace enough elements of today’s country music to chart in its current version.”
A second statement from Billboard said: “Billboard’s decision to take the song off of the country chart had absolutely nothing to do with the race of the artist.”
Country artists like Meghan Linsey stand up for Lil Nas X. Meanwhile, his exclusion from the chart sparks conversation on social media.
That is some BS. It’s got plenty of “country elements” 🤠 and its as “country” as anything on country radio, tbh. 🤷🏼♀️@LilNasX https://t.co/8iiQOqQhjs
— Meghan Linsey (@meghanlinsey) March 28, 2019
April 2019 - Billy Ray Cyrus hops on a remix of "Old Town Road".
Billy Ray Cyrus joins Lil Nas X on a remix of "Old Town Road", which now, hopefully, has more "elements of today's country music" to be included on the Hot Country charts.
Elsewhere, chartdata reveals that "Old Town Road" would have hit number 1 on the Hot Country Songs chart this week.
.@LilNasX's "Old Town Road" would have hit #1 on this week's Billboard Hot Country Songs chart had it not been removed.
— chart data (@chartdata) April 2, 2019
