Lil Nas X’s record-breaking, genre-smashing hit “Old Town Road” continues to gain fans among some of music’s most legendary artists.
Earlier this week, Billboard reported that a remix of “Old Town Road” featuring Billy Ray Cyrus ranked No. 1 on the magazine’s Hot 100 singles chart for the 15th straight week. If the song maintains the top spot for two more weeks, it will become the longest-running No. 1 in the history of the chart, which measures the 100 most commercially successful songs in the U.S.
The success of “Old Town Road” has inspired Lil Nas X to hit the studio for additional remixes of the track, and if he has his way, the new versions will feature other high-profile performers. On Monday, the 20-year-old rapper tweeted at fans, “Y’all think I can get Dolly Parton and [rapper] Megan Thee Stallion on an old town road remix?”
Parton on Wednesday seemed to suggest she was on board by responding, well, as only Dolly Parton can. The country superstar tweeted an image of the “Old Town Road” single cover with herself as a hot-pink horse with a flowing blonde mane added in.
And Parton isn’t the only diva who seems eager to collaborate with the rapper.
On July 12, Lil Nas X placed a similar callout to Mariah Carey, who is incidentally one of the two current record holders for longest-running No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 with 1995’s “One Sweet Day,” her collaboration with Boyz II Men.
Carey cheekily responded with a photograph of herself in a cowboy hat, and appeared to suggest that the pair team up for a mashup of “One Sweet Day” and “Old Town Road.”
The hip-hop/country crossover appeal of “Old Town Road” has put Lil Nas X on the fast track to global stardom.
The track holds the distinction of being the longest-leading No. 1 hit by an openly LGBTQ artist in Hot 100 history, as the rapper himself came out as gay in a series of tweets to mark Pride Month in June.
Of his decision to open up publicly about his sexuality, Lil Nas X told the BBC it was something he’d considered “taking to the grave,” but added, “I don’t want to live my entire life — especially how I got to where I’m at — not doing what I want to do.”