Lil Nas X follows “Old Town Road” with a new EP.
AS “OLD TOWN ROAD” closes out its third month on top of the Bill board “Hot 100” chart, it enters the company of the most successful hit singles of the past 20 years. It has already enjoyed a longer stay than event records like Pharrell’s “Happy,” Adele’s “Hello,” and Destiny’s Child’s “Independent Women, Pt. I.” Those songs still get burn today; they’re etched into the history of popular culture. Maybe, in the future, we’ll remember “Old Town Road” as a bright spot in strange times.
This feat is doubly impressive because “Old Town Road” is Atlanta rapper Lil Nas X’s first official single. The last time a solo artist got this much distance on the first at bat, Jimmy Carter was president: In 1977, vocalist Debby Boone, daughter of the wholesome film and pop star Pat Boone and a member of his Christian family band, cut a cover of “You Light Up My Life,” the Oscar winning theme song to the forgettable low budget romance of the same name. Boone’s ballad broke big—her reign on the top lasted ten weeks—and her team rushed an album out to capitalize on the momentum. That album, also called You Light Up My Life, was a mess that not even Beatles and Abba covers could save. Boone got lost in the shuffle trying to juggle pop, rock, country, and sentimental ballads. She didn’t have the range. Light went platinum, but in three years Boone’s pop career dried up and she returned to the Christian-music circuit.
This story is from the July 8-21, 2019 edition of New York magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the July 8-21, 2019 edition of New York magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Unmasking Diddy
The rap mogul shook off decades of rumored bad behavior with wholesome PR revamps. Now the allegations against him are his legacy.
Staging Sufjan
How playwright Jackie Sibblies Drury turned a classic indie-rock album into a Justin Peck-choreographed dance piece that's now Broadway bound.
Justin Kuritzkes Serves an Ace
With his first movie script for the erotic tennis drama Challengers, he has gone from struggling playwright to in-demand screenwriter.
To Brooklyn, by Way of Paris and Rome
A whirlwind week with Dior creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri as she stages the brand's first New York runway show in a decade.
A Burlesque Family at Home
Showbiz couple Angie Pontani and Brian Newman’s high-spirited Marine Park house.
A Bistro With Shish Barak
Huda impressively balances its many influences.
THE 'DEBATE ME BRO
Mehdi Hasan's aggressive interviewing style landed him a Sunday show on MSNBC. Until he started talking about Palestine.
THE MAN WHO GOSSIPED TOO MUCH
For almost two decades, JOHN NELSON anonymously published blind items skewering the Hollywood elite on the blog CRAZY DAYS AND NIGHTS. Then his identity was revealed in the midst of a messy affair.
TODD BLANCHE IS A SURPRISINGLY COMPETENT LAWYER. AND HE'S ON TRACK TO KEEP HIS CLIENT OUT OF JAIL UNTIL THE ELECTION. IN DEFENSE OF TRUMP
TODD BLANCHE WAS looking for his man. Or it could be a woman, but probably not.
Self: Emma Alpern
In Outer Space Why do so many women believe their bodies are controlled by the moon?
