NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Singer/songwriter and worldwide entertainment icon Billy Ray Cyrus continues to rule the Billboard Hot 100 with Lil Nas X as “Old Town Road” featuring Cyrus, ties the record for the No. 1 position in the chart’s six-decade history. “Old Town Road” (Columbia Records) also leads Streaming Songs, Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Songs for 16 weeks each, according to Billboard.
“This song has been a uniter not a divider. I’m giving God the glory now for allowing me the gift to be part of such a special song. It’s a unique moment in time where people from all over the world and all walks of life find they have more in common than they do different. It’s a moment we’ve all shared and I’m grateful for it,” said Cyrus.
At 57, no other artist has had a career like Cyrus. He ranks along Santana’s 30-year span between his first Hot 100 entry (1969’s “Jingo”) and first No. 1 with his own 27-year gap between “Achy Breaky Heart” and “Old Town Road.” And along with daughter Miley, who topped the Hot 100 with her own “Wrecking Ball” in 2013, he joins an exclusive group of fathers and daughters who have led the Hot 100, a family tree whose branches include Frank and Nancy Sinatra.
According to Billboard, “Old Town Road” is now one of the three longest-running songs in history:
Weeks at No. 1, Title, Artist, Date Reached No. 1
16, “Old Town Road,” Lil Nas X feat. Billy Ray Cyrus, beginning April 13, 2019
16, “Despacito,” Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee feat. Justin Bieber, May 27, 2017
16, “One Sweet Day,” Mariah Carey & Boyz II Men, Dec. 2, 1995
14, “Uptown Funk!,” Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars, Jan. 17, 2015
14, “I Gotta Feeling,” The Black Eyed Peas, July 11, 2009
14, “We Belong Together,” Mariah Carey, June 4, 2005
14, “Candle in the Wind 1997″/”Something About the Way You Look Tonight,” Elton John, Oct. 11, 1997
14, “Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix),” Los Del Rio, Aug. 3, 1996
14, “I’ll Make Love to You,” Boyz II Men, Aug. 27, 1994
14, “I Will Always Love You,” Whitney Houston, Nov. 28, 1992
(Source: Billboard)
The cultural phenomenon that is “Old Town Road” feat. Cyrus has achieved RIAA© Diamond status of more than 10 million units. The star-studded music video for the track has exceeded 200 Million views since released in May. Recently, Lionsgate unleashed a trailer featuring “Old Town Road” to promote the September 20 release of “Rambo: Last Blood,” starring Sylvester Stallone. CLICK HERE to watch.
About Billy Ray Cyrus:
Billy Ray Cyrus became a household name over the course of his unprecedented career which spans across music, television and theater. Throughout his nearly three decade career, Cyrus has achieved worldwide success as a singer, songwriter, actor and producer. The Flatwoods, KY native exploded onto the music scene when his first album, Some Gave All, debuted on the all-genre Billboard album chart at No. 1 and stayed there for a record-breaking 17 weeks in 1992. The lead single, “Achy Breaky Heart,” became a phenomenon as the single went multi-platinum. After “Achy Breaky Heart,” Cyrus followed up with back to back hits “It Could’ve Been Me,” “She’s Not Crying Anymore,” “Wher’m I Gonna Live When I Get Home?” and the anthemic “Some Gave All.” Cyrus knocked himself out of the top Billboard position with the his second No. 1 album, It Won’t Be The Last, featuring smash hits “In the Heart of a Woman,” “Words By Heart” and “Somebody New.” Cyrus followed up with dozens more that defined country music. “To me, my most defining moment in country was being joined by George Jones and Loretta Lynn on my self-penned ‘Country Music Has the Blues,’” said Cyrus. He also enjoyed a successful career as an actor in “Doc” and “Still The King,” as well as the Disney series “Hannah Montana” with his daughter Miley. Recently, Cyrus has shattered records with Lil Nas X with the global smash, “Old Town Road,” which has remained No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for 16 consecutive weeks. Returning to his Kentucky roots, on July 19, BBR Music Group/BMG released Cyrus’s new single with emerging artist Johnny McGuire titled, “Chevys and Fords,” which Rolling Stone Country proclaimed is “a gently rocking country tune brimming with Springsteen-inspired, vehicle-based nostalgia…finds the two vocalists singing about how they come from a long line of Chevys and Fords.'”
