Friday, December 13, 2024

Lil Nas X-Billy Ray Cyrus Hit Is Number 1 on Billboard, Trade Mag Sticks to Its Guns Refusing Country Chart Entry

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Here’s a little update:

The remix of “Old Town Road” with Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus, has hit number 1 on the Billboard Top 100 singles charts. But that’s a combined chart of all genres.

Billboard, which calls itself the “bible” of the music biz, refuses to put “Old Town Road” on the country chart. So it’s not there at all.

Meantime, iTunes lists the song at number 1 on its country and pop charts. iTunes is far more important at this point, so the Billboard exclusion is just a sad reflection of their status as out of it. And maybe, racist. Because why else keep a hip hop artist off the country charts?

It’s not a good look for Billboard, which is far from its roots. Its late great editor, Timothy White, must be rolling in his grave.

But now Lil Nas X– I like this guy– is stirring things up again. He says on Twitter he’s making music with Ryan Tedder and OneRepublic. He’s just going to cross all genres and make everyone crazy. We need this!

 

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.

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