Just a few days ago, Lil Nas X recruited Young Thug and young viral yodeler Mason Ramsey for yet another remix of his ever-mutating hit “Old Town Road.” At this point, calling it a “cultural juggernaut” or a “behemoth of chart success” feels like telling only part of the story; “Old Town Road” began as a meme and became the No. 1 song in the country, not the other way around. Therefore, it has seemed gradually invincible for the past few months.
When Justin Bieber hopped on Billie Eilish’s “Bad Guy” remix last week, though, it seemed like the reign of Lil Nas X could be coming to an end. But nope! Not even a superstar team-up like that — complete with the adorable, feel-good, somehow underdog narrative behind it — could stop “Old Town Road.” It is now enjoying its historic 15th week on top of Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart.
This gives “Old Town Road” and its Billy Ray Cyrus remix a unique designation: It has now outlasted Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars’s “Uptown Funk,” the Black Eyed Peas’s “I Gotta Feeling,” Mariah Carey’s “We Belong Together,” Los Del Rio’s “Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix),” Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You,” Boyz II Men’s “I’ll Make Love to You,” and Elton John’s “Candle in the Wind 1997″/”Something About the Way You Look Tonight” at the top of chart. All those songs remained No. 1 for 14 weeks.
Additionally, Lil Nas X and Billy Ray are just one week away from tying other two songs for the honor of longest-running No. 1 of all time: Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s “Despacito” featuring Justin Bieber, and Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men’s “One Sweet Day,” which both lasted 16 weeks. Outlets are also pointing out that “Old Town Road” is now officially the longest-running debut single of all time.
It’s very conceivable that “Old Town Road” will break this ultimate record given how it only needs to hang on for another two weeks. And so far, no challengers to the throne — not even fellow gargantuan pop stars like Taylor Swift (twice), Ed Sheeran (with Bieber), Post Malone (with Young Thug), Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello, and others — have been able to topple it.
In the meantime, Rolling Stone‘s newly launched charts currently find “Old Town Road” at No. 2, just below Posty’s “Goodbyes.” That might matter, but we won’t know how much until next week. Stay tuned, and stream the newest remix of “Old Town Road” above.
