Spurred by a TikTok Meme, Lil Nas X Scores First Billboard Hot 100 Hit With 'Old Town Road'

The track also debuts on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

Atlanta country-trap singer Lil Nas X charts his first song on Billboard's rankings, as "Old Town Road" debuts at No. 83 on the Billboard Hot 100, among other tallies, dated March 16.   

Originally released late last year, the track has surged in memes on social media platform TikTok, where users have uploaded millions of clips using bits of the song, plus the hashtag #oldtownroad (see below).   

The song, which samples Nine Inch Nails' 2008 track "34 Ghosts IV," drew 8.8 million U.S. streams (up 302 percent) and 4,000 downloads sold (up 295 percent) in the weekending March 7, according to Nielsen Music.   

The track's official video, which Lil Nas X released Dec. 2 and features clips from the video game Red Dead Redemption, has raked in 4.3 million global YouTube views to date.

"Old Town Road" concurrently debuts at No. 36 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, while Lil Nas X enters the Emerging Artists chart at No. 14.

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