Lil Nas X
started off 2021 by releasing a children’s book,
C Is for Country
and teasing a future collaboration with
Miley Cyrus
. Over the weekend, the 21-year-old singer learned that his smash-hit single “Old Town Road” set a major music record.
The song, which spent a record-setting 19 week atop the
Billboard
Hot 100, becoming the chart’s longest-running number-one single, is now the highest-certified song in the history of the RIAA, which hands out Gold and Platinum awards.
”
OLD TOWN ROAD IS OFFICIALLY 14 TIMES PLATINUM! MOST PLATINUMS FOR ANY SONG EVER! LETS GOOO,” Lil Nas X, born
Montero Lamar Hill
, celebrated Saturday on
Twitter
.
The RIAA retweeted the “Panini” singer’s celebratory post and added, “Congratulations to
@LilNasX
featuring
@billyraycyrus
on the #1 awarded single in
@riaa
history! 14X [diamond emoji.]”
Billy Ray Cyrus
, who lent his vocals to the 2019 track, also reacted in shock to the announcement.
“Incredible. I’m speechless.
#OTR
is now 14x platinum and the most certified song in music history. Thank YOU,” the country rocker gushed
on Saturday
.
The RIAA lists a song unit as being one digital song sale or 150 on-demand video or audio streams. For “Old Town Road” to hit 14x Platinum, that means the song moved 14 million units.
Prior to kicking off the weekend on a history-making note, Lil Nas X explained the history of his birth name on
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
on Friday.
“It’s slightly embarrassing, but not embarrassed,” the Grammy-winner told
Jimmy Fallon
about his birth name. “My mom wanted the car, the [Mitsubishi] Montero, and she never got one… so, yeah, I’m named after a car.”
By Megan Stone
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