Lil Nas X’s ‘Old Town Road’ dethrones ‘Despacito’ with new chart record
LA TimesMove over, Mariah and Daddy Yankee — there’s a new cowboy in town. Billboard announced Monday that “Old Town Road” — the left-field country-trap smash by 20-year-old Lil Nas X — has held on to its spot atop the Hot 100 for a record 17th week. A slow-rolling tune about horses set to a banjo lick sampled from an obscure Nine Inch Nails song, “Old Town Road” first caught on among users of the video-sharing app TikTok, who used the track as part of a viral dance challenge. And last week — in a clear bid to garner the streams necessary to break the Billboard record — “Old Town Road” reappeared as “Seoul Town Road” with an appearance by RM of the ultra-popular K-pop group BTS. Taylor Swift released three separate singles from her upcoming “Lover” album, none of which managed to bump “Old Town Road” from the Hot 100’s top spot.