Lil Nas X's 'Old Town Road' becomes most certified song in history
The song has smashed records 🐎
Last updated 12th Jan 2021
Released in 2019, Lil Nas X’s huge breakout hit ‘Old Town Road’ has smashed multiple chart records and inspired epic festival singalongs.
The rapper even received a Grammy award for the song, which helped evoke a wider conversation about the very formula to pop country music.
In 2021, the collaboration with Billy Ray Cyrus has now blasted even more chart records, as it has officially become the most-certified song in RIAA history.
On Friday, Nas X shared the news that his breakout hit had gone 14x platinum, out-performing the previous leaders, John Legend’s ‘All Of Time’ and ‘Despacito’ by Daddy Yankee, Luis Fonsi and Justin Bieber, which were both certified 13x platinum.
Nas shared a video on Twitter to celebrate the monumental achievement, whilst collaborator Cyrus wrote on Instagram: 'I’m speechless. #OTR is now 14x platinum and the most certified song in music history. Thank YOU!'
The catchy tune initially gained popularity on social media app Tik Tok, when it went viral with users filming dances to the song.
It first entered the Billboard Hot 100 in March 2019 and won 'Musical Event of The Year' at the 53rd Annual CMA Awards. At the 2020 Grammys, the song earned Nas X and Cyrus three nominations and two wins for Best Pop/Duo Performance and Best Music Video.
The pair even performed their smash hit in front of thousands at Glastonbury Festival in 2019, appearing as a surprise guest during Billy Ray’s daughter Miley Cyrus’ set.
Our favourite 2020 collabs...
Julia Michaels and JP Saxe 'If The World Was Ending'
Boyfriend/girlfriend duo JP Saxe and Julia Michaels teamed up for 'If The World Was Ending' in 2019, however it was in 2020 that the song really became popular. Singers from around the world came together to feature in a special music video to raise money for Doctors Without Borders, the new video features Anne-Marie, Jason Derulo, Niall Horan, Sam Smith and Zara Larsson.
Martin Solveig, RAYE and Jax Jones 'Tequila'
'Tequila' came from Jax Jones teaming up with Martin Solveig and RAYE in February 2020. They even recorded an uncut version of the music video which included a whole section in Spanish.
RAYE and Regard 'Secrets'
RAYE and Regard teamed up for 'Secrets' in April 2020. The song is now a chilled pop banger, but RAYE told us how it was originally a slow R&B song and Regard transformed it.
Sam Smith and Demi Lovato 'I'm Ready'
Sam Smith and Demi Lovato teamed up for 'I'm Ready' in April 2020. The song was co-written by both singers and a group of songwriters, it reached Number 20 in the UK.
Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber 'Stuck With U'
Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber released their charity song 'Stuck With U' in May 2020. The pair encouraged their fans to upload videos of themselves dancing to the song while they were in lockdown.
Lennon Stella and Charlie Puth 'Summer Feeling'
For the ultimate summer vibes, Lennon Stella and Charlie Puth released their hit 'Summer Feeling' in May 2020, from Scoob! The Album.
SZA and Justin Timberlake 'The Other Side'
SZA and Justin Timberlake released 'The Other Side' which was featured on the soundtrack for Trolls World Tour. The film had limited release due to the Coronavirus outbreak and instead was released on Blu-ray and DVD in June 2020.
Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande - 'Rain On Me'
Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande teamed up for the super successful 'Rain On Me' in June 2020. The song features on Lady Gaga's latest album 'Chromatica' which has become the fastest selling album of the year so far.
Becky Hill and Sigala - 'Heaven On My Mind'
Becky Hill and Sigala dropped 'Heaven On My Mind' in June. The song was a surprise and fans love it. Becky also dropped a music video on the same day the song was released.
Kygo and Tina Turner 'What's Love Got To Do With It'
Norwegian DJ Kygo released a brand new collaboration with sassy soul legend Tina Turner, a remix of Tina's iconic 'What's Love Got To Do With It' in July 2020.
Joel Corry and MNEK 'Head & Heart'
Joel Corry and MNEK teamed up in July 2020 for 'Head & Heart'. The song reached Number 1 in the UK, staying at the peak position for six weeks.
Anne-Marie featuring Doja Cat - 'To Be Young'
Anne-Marie worked with US rapper Doja Cat on 'To Be Young', released in July 2020.
Clean Bandit and Mabel featuring 24kGoldn - 'Tick Tock'
BRIT Award-winner Mabel teamed up with Clean Bandit, who are well-known for their collaborations with other artists! They recorded 'Tick Tock' with rapper 24kGoldn before the pandemic, and filmed a socially distanced music video just ahead of the song's release in August 2020.
Calvin Harris and The Weeknd 'Over Now'
Calvin Harris and The Weeknd released their collab 'Over Now' on 28th August. The music video is a CGI animated video featuring a disco ball-style recreation of The Weeknd in various futuristic locations.
Dua Lipa - 'Club Future Nostalgia'
Dua released 'Club Future Nostalgia' in August 2020 - a remixed version of her second album 'Future Nostalgia', released in March 2020. The new album featured the likes of Madonna, Missy Elliott, Mark Ronson, Gwen Stefani and Blackpink.
Justin Bieber featuring Chance the Rapper - 'Holy'
2020 was a big year for Justin Bieber in musical terms - after releasing his fifth album 'Changes' in February 2020, Justin worked on plenty of collaborations throughout the year, including 'Holy' with Chance the Rapper, released in September 2020. He also worked with Shawn Mendes on 'Monster', 'Lonely' with Benny Blanco and 'Mood (Remix)' with 24kGoldn, J Balvin, and Iann Dior.
Jax Jones and Au/Ra - 'i miss u'
'i miss u' is the latest in a number of fantastic collabs from Jax Jones, being released in October 2020. In the last 12 months alone he has teamed up with RAYE and Martin Solveig on 'Tequila', and Ella Henderson for 'This Is Real'.
MEDUZA - 'Paradise' feat. Dermot Kennedy
Dermot Kennedy teamed up with Italian DJ trio MEDUZA for 'Paradise', released in October 2020, after they remixed his hit song 'Power Over Me'.
Little Mix and Nathan Dawe - 'No Time For Tears'
Little Mix worked with DJ Nathan Dawe on 'No Time For Tears', released on Friday 27th November 2020 - just a few weeks after releasing their sixth album 'Confetti'!
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