“Old Town Road” has officially tied the record for longest No. 1 in history

Lil Nas X is one week away from making history.

July 22, 2019
“Old Town Road” has officially tied the record for longest No. 1 in history Billy Ray Cyrus (L) and Lil Nas X at the 2019 BET. June 23, 2019.   JEAN-BAPTISTE LACROIX/AFP/Getty Images

Lil Nas X's "Old Town Road" has topped the Billboard Hot 100 for the 16th week in a row, tying the record for the longest streak at number one in history. Only two other songs have ever achieved this feat: "Despacito" by Daddy Yankee, Luis Fonsi, and Justin Bieber, and 1995's "One Sweet Day" by Boyz II Men and Mariah Carey.

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The big question is whether or not the song can extend the streak to 17 weeks and become the longest-running number one in history. Billboard seems to think so, writing that "the stage could be set" for Lil Nas X to enter the history books thanks to a lack of obvious competition from other artists to take the top spot.

Nas X is optimistic that week number seventeen is his, tweeting "what we doing to celebrate the billboard record when we break it" on July 20:

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Remixes have been key to the success of "Old Town Road." The song's first exploded thanks to a verse from Billy Ray Cyrus, and that remix was itself recently remixed to feature Young Thug and Mason Ramsey. Another version with Dolly Parton and Megan Thee Stallion may or may not be on the way, depending on whether or not Lil Nas was meme-ing when he tweeted for them to get on the track.

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“Old Town Road” has officially tied the record for longest No. 1 in history