Blogocentric Formulations

Old Town Road

"The Soundtrack of Your Life"  | DAY 21

"Old Town Road" by Lil Nas X feat. Billy Ray Cyrus

My son has requested this song be played so often that I really don't enjoy it anymore, but I wanted to include it in my playlist this year not just because it was a fixture of my listening this past year, but also because I really enjoy the story behind this song, most notably the fact that it was rather controversially removed from the Billboard country charts for not being "country" enough (a problem that many black artists face when trying to record country songs that include elements of other genres), and prompted Lil Nas X to record a remix (the first of which included Billy Ray Cyrus and is the version I chose) to include more country elements. The song has since gone on to chart on multiple Billboard charts, and has a number of different remixes, and has absolutely exploded in popularity both online and on radio stations. It became so popular so quickly, that at one point several radio stations had to stream the song on YouTube to keep up with play requests.

After coming from humble beginnings and the initial controversy about the song not being "country" enough, it's really nice to see an artist like Lil Nas X enjoy so much success from an undeniably catchy song.