Billy Ray Cyrus on Lil Nas X’s ‘Old Town Road’ is the pop opportunist we’ve always known
5 years, 9 months ago

Billy Ray Cyrus on Lil Nas X’s ‘Old Town Road’ is the pop opportunist we’ve always known

LA Times  

Pop Music Critic Only a rube would look at this new remix of “Old Town Road” — in which Billy Ray Cyrus jumps on the controversial country-trap hit by Lil Nas X — as an act of pure altruism. “Old Town Road,” with its sampled banjo lick and Lil Nas X’s rhymes about horses and boots, is no less a country song than Billboard-approved hits by Sam Hunt and Florida Georgia Line; indeed, it’s far more of a country song than Taylor Swift’s mechanized “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” which topped the country chart in 2012. On Wednesday afternoon, the “Achy Breaky Heart” singer wrote to Lil Nas X on Twitter, telling him he’d been watching the hubbub over “Old Town Road.” “When I got thrown off the charts,” he said, presumably referring to some age-old shake-up related to his own pop crossover, “Waylon Jennings said to me, ‘Take this a compliment.’” Being shunned by the country establishment, Cyrus suggested, “means you’re doing something great!” “Only Outlaws are outlawed,” he concluded. “Welcome to the club!” A day later, he was rhyming with Lil Nas X on the “Old Town Road” remix, which by Friday morning had reached No.

History of this topic

Camila Cabello and Lil Nas X surprise fans as they celebrate new collab at Heart in West Hollywood after getting 'stuck on an elevator for an hour'
7 months, 4 weeks ago
Lil Nas X says music industry wants LGBTQ+ artists to ‘be gay without being gay’
3 years ago
Lil Nas X gives one of his friends a tender hug while departing the Lamda Lounge in New York City
3 years ago
Lil Nas X cuddles up with HIMSELF while featured on cover for GQ's Men Of The Year issue
3 years, 1 month ago
Dolly Parton already loved Lil Nas X. And now she loves his viral ‘Jolene’ cover
3 years, 3 months ago
Lil Nas X doubts he would have come out if not for Old Town Road success
3 years, 3 months ago
Why Lil Nas X is like no other gay pop star
3 years, 3 months ago
An impassioned Lil Nas X triumphs over haters and homophobes on debut album
3 years, 3 months ago
Lil Nas X review, Montero: Bursting with technicolour heart
3 years, 3 months ago
Fans hail Lil Nas X’s ‘unapologetically Black and unapologetically queer’ debut album
3 years, 3 months ago
The wait is nearly over: Lil Nas X tells fans his debut album is finally coming out
3 years, 6 months ago
Lil Nas X flashes his abs and arrives in style at Stassie Karanikolaou's birthday bash in Hollywood
3 years, 6 months ago
Lil Nas X makes out with Dominic Fike in the trippy new video for Brockhampton's single Count On Me
3 years, 8 months ago
Decoding the enigma of Lil Nas X: Why the American rapper is perennially at the eye of the storm
3 years, 9 months ago
Rapper Lil Nas X criticised for Satan lap dance in new music video
3 years, 9 months ago
Lil Nas X Trolls Right-Wingers With Mocking Apology For His New Satan Shoes
3 years, 9 months ago
Lil Nas X’s ‘Montero’ and the delight of yet another satanic panic
3 years, 9 months ago
Lil Nas X says he’s written the ‘best kids book of all time’
4 years, 3 months ago
Lil Nas X 'wiped his schedule' to perform at Melbourne bushfire relief concert
4 years, 10 months ago
One hit no more: Persistence pays off for Billy Ray Cyrus
4 years, 11 months ago
Lil Nas X: 15 of the rapper’s best ever fashion moments
4 years, 11 months ago
The Grammys may be our last time to see Lil Nas X in full cowboy gear: His stylist clues us in
4 years, 11 months ago
Will Grammy voters take the ‘Old Town Road’ on Sunday?
4 years, 11 months ago
盘点:2019年最热门的12首流行歌曲
5 years ago
Best albums and songs of 2019: Solange, Lana Del Rey and the miracle that is ‘Old Town Road’
5 years ago
Lil Nas X on coming out: ‘I wanted to be someone that people are proud of’
5 years, 1 month ago
Grammys 2020: Lizzo, Billie Eilish and Lil Nas X lead noms, Jonas Brothers get Best Pop Duo/Group Performance nod
5 years, 1 month ago
How Billie Eilish, Lizzo and Lil Nas X rewrote the rules for stardom and took over the Grammys
5 years, 1 month ago
Fiona Apple calls out Lil Nas X for sampling her song 'Every Single Night': 'Where's my money, cute little guy?'
5 years, 3 months ago
How Jon Pardi updates big-hat country for the ‘Old Town Road’ generation
5 years, 3 months ago
Lil Nas X Reacts To Scoring A CMA Award Nom After Country Chart Controversy
5 years, 4 months ago
Billie Eilish song 'Bad Guy' ends Lil Nas X's record-breaking chart reign with 'Old Town Road'
5 years, 4 months ago
Blake Shelton denies new single insults Lil Nas X’s ‘Old Town Road’
5 years, 4 months ago
Lil Nas X says the 'universe' pushed him to come out after Old Town Road's success
5 years, 4 months ago
Lil Nas X’s viral song sets more records on Billboard charts
5 years, 4 months ago
As Lil Nas X's Old Town Road becomes all-time longest-running Billboard No 1, a look at how it got there
5 years, 5 months ago
Lil Nas X makes history as ‘Old Town Road’ breaks Billboard Hot 100 record
5 years, 5 months ago
Mariah Carey congratulates Lil Nas X for his smash hit Old Town Road
5 years, 5 months ago
Lil Nas X came out, but has hip-hop? A macho culture faces a crossroads
5 years, 5 months ago
Lil Nas X sets new Billboard record for most weeks at No.1
5 years, 5 months ago
Lil Nas X’s ‘Old Town Road’ dethrones ‘Despacito’ with new chart record
5 years, 5 months ago
‘Old Town Road’ is a record-breaking, gay-pride-celebrating, America-unifying pop-culture miracle
5 years, 5 months ago
Lil Nas X ties Billboard record set by Mariah, ‘Despacito’
5 years, 5 months ago
Young Thug says Lil Nas X shouldn't have come out as gay: 'These days it's all judgement'
5 years, 5 months ago
The infinite remix potential of "Old Town Road"
5 years, 5 months ago
Lil Nas X: 'I’m Already Getting' Backlash For Coming Out As Gay
5 years, 6 months ago
Miley Cyrus, Dwayne Wade and more show support for Lil Nas X after receiving homophobic comments
5 years, 6 months ago
Lil Nas X's "Old Town Road" star power and country's queer visibility
5 years, 6 months ago
Country rapper Lil Nas X comes out as gay in Pride tweets
5 years, 6 months ago
Correction: US-Music-Lil Nas X story
5 years, 6 months ago

Discover Related