Lil Nas X's 'Old Town Road' With Billy Ray Cyrus Becomes Highest Certified Song In RIAA History
By TheBlast Staff on January 11, 2021 at 4:45 AM EST
Lil Nas X- 'Old Town Road' music video feat. Billy Ray Cyrus
Back in spring 2019, Lil Nas X really started to take off as an artist. In December 2018, he put out his country/rap single, "Old Town Road." It began to hit the Billboard charts but was oddly removed due to it supposedly not meeting the requirements of a country record.
The Atlanta native then one-upped them as he put country legend, Billy Ray Cyrus on the remix and the only way was up from that point. It soon became the No.1 album in the US.
Old Town Road Goes 14x Platinum
Over the weekend, Old Town Road reached another remarkable achievement since its release and that it's been certified 14x platinum by the RIAA in the US. This is after selling 14 million units. With this 14x platinum status, this also becomes the highest certified track in RIAA history, according to Chart Data.
On YouTube, the music video has also accumulated over 555 million views. With it already being two and a half years old, it is still a fan favorite and was one of the most dominant records of the decade.
Old Town Road Broke The Billboard Hot 100 Record For Consecutive Weeks At No. 1
In 2019, "Old Town Road" remix also had another epic accomplishment and that was breaking the record for consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It moved past Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men's "One Sweet Day" ballad from 1995. Old Town Road went on to extend its record to 19 consecutive weeks. The artist who broke this streak was Billie Eilish, as her breakout single, "Bad Guy," claimed the top spot. At the time, Bad Guy was at No. 2 for nine weeks.
Nas X's '7' EP Also Did Well On The Charts
Old Town Road remix feat. Billy Ray Cyrus went on to appear on Nas X's debut EP, "7." The original Old Town Road was on it as well. This project did very well commercially as it went on to debut at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart. There were other fan-favorite hits on this such as "Panini" and "Rodeo" feat. Cardi B. From that point, fans were anxiously wondering when Nas X would put out his debut studio album.
Lil Nas X Prepares For Debut Album To Be Released In 2021
Last month, Nas X put out his "Holiday" single which went on to do very well. It has already achieved gold certification by the RIAA. Nas X is also getting ready to finally put out the debut album this year as back in October, he claimed that he would be releasing the "greatest album of all-time." This is definitely a bold statement but based on the success of his singles and 2019 EP, it has a very good chance of being a No. 1 album.
