WHAT IT IS: Lil Nas X has created a country trap song for the masses. And in doing so, he’s entered the same rarefied space in culture where top superstars like Ariana Grande and Post Malone seamlessly experiment with any genre and gain acceptance beyond boundaries. “Old Town Road,” which dropped 3/14, has reached #1 on the Hot 100 chart, topped the Apple Music Top 200 songs chart, the Spotify U.S. Top 50 and the iTunes songs chart. The track, which had the largest streaming week ever with 80m+ single-week streams, has accumulated 140m+ global streams to date and continues to grow while showing no signs of slowing down.
SINGLE: “Old Town Road”
INTERNET: 60m+ YouTube Views; 800k+ Instagram followers; “Old Town Road” covers by the Avengers cast, Ellen DeGeneres, Oprah and Will Smith
RADIO: Headed Top 20 at Pop radio; Rhythm already trending Top 20; Urban chart debut; Most Added and Greatest Gainer at all three formats
PRESS: Rolling Stone, GMA, New York Times, CBS News, GQ, Complex, Vice