Everybody’s favorite cowboy Lil Nas X has beaten a pretty big streaming record with his hit “Old Town Road.”
Billboard reports that “Old Town Road,” which features Billy Ray Cyrus on the remix, has entered its second week atop the Billboard Hot 100 chart. By April 11, the song had 143 million U.S. streams that week, breaking Drake’s previous record of 116.2 million streams for “In My Feelings” from the week of July 28 in 2018.
Somewhere, Drake is currently scrambling to buy a banjo.
Earlier this month, “Old Town Road” was removed from Billboard’s Hot Country chart after also debuting on the Hot 100 and Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs. Despite the fact that the song has cowboy hats, tractor trucks, twangy guitar, and galloping horses galore, Billboard said it did “not embrace enough elements of today’s country music to chart in its current version.”
That’s bullshit, considering some of the country-pop currently topping the charts. The country charts have historically been picky when it comes to “true country,” and I say if country radio could shun great songs from Loretta Lynn and Johnny Cash, then Lil Nas X is some nice company. “It was so obvious to me after hearing the song just one time. I was thinking, what’s not country about it?” Billy Ray Cyrus tweeted in solidarity after releasing his remix. “Then I thought, it’s honest, humble, and has an infectious hook, and a banjo. What the hell more do ya need?”