Lil Nas X’s ‘Old Town Road’ Was a Country Hit. Then Country Changed Its Mind

The viral phenomenon blew up so fast radio professionals had to rip it from YouTube to play it on the air, and the music industry is still scrambling to decide what, exactly, to call it

On Sunday night, Justin Bieber hopped on Instagram to announce his latest musical crush to 106 million followers. “This shit bangs,” the star wrote, flashing a picture of Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road.” Lil Nas X’s genre-defying creation blends banjo strums and jaw-rattling bass, rural imagery and hip-hop signifiers. Hooky, short and wildly loopable, “Old Town Road” took off on the app TikTok, which allows users to create video clips set to music. Now this outrageous hybrid is the latest bizarre viral phenomenon — it debuted on Billboard’s cross-genre Hot 100 chart, the Hot Country Songs chart and the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart all at once.

Lil Nas X’s career on the country chart, though, was short-lived. Billboard quietly removed “Old Town Road” from Hot Country Songs and informed Lil Nas X’s label, Columbia Records, that his inclusion on the ranking was a mistake, according to an insider with knowledge of the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Billboard did not publicly announce the change, but in a statement released to Rolling Stone, the publication said that “upon further review, it was determined that ‘Old Town Road’ by Lil Nas X does not currently merit inclusion on Billboard‘s country charts. When determining genres, a few factors are examined, but first and foremost is musical composition. 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.” Through a representative, Lil Nas X declined a request to comment on Billboard‘s decision.

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