Lil Nas X's "Old Town Road" Broke A Major Record Set Over 20 Years Ago

Today is historic y'all. Like, seriously historic. Lil Nas X's "Old Town Road" broke a major record set by Mariah Carey over two decades ago, which is an incredible feat.

On July 29, "Old Town Road" officially occupied the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for 17 weeks straight, dethroning Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men's "One Sweet Day." And guys, you need to understand that this is huge. Not only because he's actually nabbed the top spot from one of Mariah Carey's 18 record Hot 100 hits, but because Carey's popular ballad held the top spot for nearly a quarter-century ever since its 16 week-long run beginning in December 1995 through March 1996. To boot (get it?), Lil Nas X's catchy song had a difficult time even qualifying as a country track when it first came out. And now, the country trap hit is setting records on the biggest chart of them all.

In March 2019, Billboard removed "Old Town Road" from their country charts, which caused outrage among the song's fans. About their reasoning for removing "Old Town Road" from the chart, Billboard explained, "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."

Ugh. But, obviously, the talented rapper didn't let that hiccup get him down. Lil Nas X added country legend Billy Ray Cyrus to the mix and well, here we are, sitting on the number one Hot 100 spot. This also marks a second number one for Cyrus since his '90s hit "Achy Breaky Heart." Talk about beating the odds. Yeehaw!

The popular track also gained some traction with the help of remixes from other mega-stars. Young Thug and 12-year-old country singing sensation Mason Ramsey jumped on a remix for a fun four-part collab. BTS' RM also created an infectious "Seoul Town Road" remix while Diplo also hopped on the track to turn the country trap anthem into a club hit. And, let's be real, you also heard the track everywhere ⁠— on the radio, in the mall, and through other people's extremely loud headphones on the train. It was no doubt a catchy cross-genre success from the start. Now, fans are all over Twitter congratulating Lil Nas X on the huge feat.

"He really did it.. I'm so proud.." wrote one fan.

"A black and openly gay country/hip-hop artist now has the longest #1 song in HISTORY. f*ck YES," tweeted another fan.

In another post, Lil Nas X got real about his struggles to make it to the top before thanking all of his fans and supporters.

"Did I know it would become the longest running song of all time? No. But I am so thankful that this blessing has been placed upon me," he wrote on Twitter. "This song has changed my life. And the way I see the world around me in less than a year. Thank you to every single person who has been apart of this journey as I said before, it's just the beginning."

Seriously, such a major accomplishment. Hats off to ya' Lil Nas X. Ride this success until you can't no more.