The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) declared on Tuesday that Lil Nas X’s hit “Old Town Road” featuring Billy Ray Cyrus is diamond certified. Not only is “Old Town Road” the first song of 2019 to gain the recognition, it is the first in the RIAA’s history to meet the minimum requirement of 10,000,000 units sold so quickly.
Lil Nas X released the record in December 2018, where it initially became a viral sensation on TikTok. Fans loved the fusion of country melody with trap beats, pushing the song up the country music Billboard chart in April 2018 before the publication was led to reclassify “Old Town Road” as a general pop and hip-hop song. Attracted to Lil Nas X’s fusion, Billy Ray Cyrus lent his vocals to create the first remix of the song.
Diplo followed suit to create the second remix, and then a third remix occurred when Billy Ray Cyrus joined the track alongside rapper Young Thug and Mason Ramsey. “Old Town Road” became “Seoul Town Road” when K-pop band BTS collaborated with Lil Nas X for a fourth remix.
Lil Nas X’s creativity and willingness to collaborate maintained his record at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for 19 consecutive weeks, making it the longest number one single in the chart’s history.