Billy Ray Cyrus Collaborates on “Old Town Road” Remix
I got the horses in the back / Horse tack is attached / Hat is matte black / Got the boots that’s black to match
Billboard recently removed Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” from the Hot Country Charts on March 26th. Billboard told Rolling Stone “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. Lil Nas X responded by dropping a remix of the song featuring country icon, Billy Ray Cyrus on April 5th. As of Friday afternoon, the song is #1 on iTunes and is the #1 trending topic on Twitter.
“Old Town Road” was released in December of 2018 and gained popularity through the social media app, Tik Tok as a part of the “Yeehaw Challenge” meme. This is where users shoot short videos of themselves dressed in everyday clothing with this song in the background. When the chorus came in (“I got the horses in the back”) the user would suddenly be seen in cowboy/cowgirl attire.
Lil Nas X categorized “Old Town Road” in the country genre on SoundCloud but now describes it as “trap country”. As the meme grew in popularity, so did the song as it debuted on the Billboard Hot Country Charts at number 19 on March 16th.
The unlikely duo of Lil Nas X and Cyrus got together after Cyrus expressed his disappointment about the removal on Instagram writing “Don’t try and think inside the box. Don’t think outside the box. Think like there is no box. #HorsesInTheBack”
Cyrus was too once taken off the country charts. On April 3rd via Twitter, Cyrus gave Lil Nas X some inspiration: “When I got thrown off the charts, Waylon Jennings said to me ‘Take this as a compliment’ means you’re doing something great! Only Outlaws are outlawed. Welcome to the club!”
Other artists expressed their support of the Atlanta-born artist on social media including Florida Georgia Line. Their motto for 2019, “Can’t Say I Ain’t Country” is perfect for Lil Nas X as well. The duo tweeted this out on Monday:
“Old Town Road” may be the first big hit for Lil Nas X but Cyrus is used to the attention. His first album, Some Gave All debuted at number one and stayed there for 17 weeeks in 1992. It’s hit single, “Achy Breaky Heart” became a phenomenon and went mulit-platinum. He has put out fifteen studio albums and seven top ten hits on the Billboard Hot Country Charts. His 16th album, The SnakeDoctor Circus will be released this spring.
To keep up with Lil Nas X, follow him on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
“Old Town Road” The Remix is now available everywhere you buy or stream music. Take a listen below and check out more new recently released music here on our ‘New Country Music’ playlist. Be sure to give the playlist a follow for your weekly new country music fix.
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