Billboard’s removal of Lil Nas X's “Old Town Road” from charts results in controversial rift!

Lil Nas X, whose real name is Montero Lamar Hill is a newcomer in the music industry. In addition to being a rapper by profession, he is also a singer, songwriter, and internet personality.

Controversial removal

His song Old Town Road, originally released on December 3, 2018, peaked at number 19 on Hot Country Songs before it was removed. It also debuted on Billboard Hot 100 at number 83, climbing to 15, peaked at no 36 in Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and the song had reached #1 on Spotify, iTunes, and Apple Music.

By April 9, 2019, his song reached number 1 on Billboard Hot 100!

Billboard told The Rolling Stone that the song was removed because it "does not embrace enough elements of today's country music to chart in its current form". The full statement reads,

"Upon further review, it was determined that “Old Town Road” by Lil Nas X does not currently merit inclusion on Billboard‘s country charts. When determining genres, a few factors are examined, but first and foremost is musical composition. 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."

The song’s remix collaborated with country music legend Billy Ray Cyrus was released on March 5, 2019.

In response

When the news hit of Lil Nas X's Old Town Road removal from Hot Country Songs, a row broke out. Cyrus took to Twitter to support the budding rapper,

Other famous singers including Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber also gave out public support to Lil Nas X. He is also co-signed with Bieber and Florida Georgia Line’s Brian Kelley.

The rapper who signed with Columbia Records in late March 2019 released a mixtape titled Nasarati on July 24, 2018. He had first gone viral with his song on the lip-syncing app Tik Tok two years ago.

The decision to exclude the track from the country charts and its absence from radio station playlists have been severely criticized on social media. Many social media users suggested that Billboard’s action is evidence of racism in the country music scene and country music’s rocky history with black artists.

Source: Twitter

While some users have questioned why it was necessary for Billy Ray Cyrus to intervene in the whole matter and were critical of Lil Nas X.

Short Bio

Lil Nas X was born Montero Lamar Hill on April 9, 1999. His birthplace is in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. He X began his career as an internal personality on Twitter. His Nicki Minaj fan account NasMaraj had already gained much popularity and he soon began to focus on music...Full Bio