News July 23, 2019

‘Old Town Road’ ties record for longest-running song atop US charts

Lil Nas X is on the cusp of making chart history, with ‘Old Town Road’ currently tied for the title of longest-running #1 song in US chart history.

Back in 1995, an artist by the name Mariah Carey released her highly-acclaimed fifth album, Daydream, featuring the single ‘One Sweet Day’.

Featuring Boyz II Men, that track would go on to make chart history, spending 16 weeks atop the Billboard charts, and beating previous record holders Whitney Houston and – again – Boyz II Men, who had set the limit at 14 weeks in the previous years.

Since then, this record seemed almost unbeatable, taking 21 years for an artist to even come close to beating this achievement. However, even 2017’s Justin Bieber-featuring remix of ‘Despacito’ by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee wasn’t enough to rewrite chart history.

Now, two years later, it appears there is another contender for the crown.

As Billboard reports, Lil Nas X’s successful, enduring, and divisive ‘Old Town Road’ has recently celebrated its 16th week at #1, meaning it is within reach of upsetting a record that has stood for almost 24 years.

As it stands, ‘Old Town Road’ is also within reach of overtaking the very same record for the Australian charts, with this week’s results seeing the track spending its 13th week at #1 (though a trip down to #2 thanks to Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber’s ‘I Don’t Care’ saw its uninterrupted streak ruined).

Ed Sheeran’s ‘Shape Of You’ currently holds the Australian record with 15 weeks on top, so we might soon see Aussie chart history made before too long as well!

While ‘Old Town Road’ was marred by a bit of controversy early in its career, the country and trap-infused song has seen a number of remixes released, including versions featuring Billy Ray Cyrus, Diplo, Young Thug, and even Mason Ramsey.

At this stage, we’ll have to wait until next week to see if Lil Nas X is about to make chart history, but even if the 24-year record isn’t broken, even matching it is indicative of the future success that awaits this 20-year-old musician.