Lil Nas X has finally been dethroned after 19 weeks atop the American charts, Billboard announced on Monday, Aug. 19, with pop star Billie Eilish besting his viral hit “Old Town Road”.
Eilish’s song “Bad Guy” spent nine nonconsecutive weeks in second place before finally unseating overnight sensation Lil Nas X’s infectious country-trap smash.
Soundtrack artist Billie Eilish arrives for the premiere of the film “Everything Everything” in Hollywood, California on May 6, 2017. Image: AFP/Frederic J. Brown
“Congratulations to billie eilish!! u deserve this!!” tweeted the 19-year-old rapper on the same day.
Like Lil Nas X, Eilish soared to fame over the past few months after releasing an acclaimed debut album “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?” in March.
Prior to its release, Eilish, a goth-inspired 17-year-old who is the first musician born in the 2000s to top the Billboard Hot 100, had already won a fervent online fanbase for her bold pop style that features heavy bass and tinges of trap and EDM.
“Congratulations @billieeilish Well deserved. Your persistence paid off. Thanks, everybody. It was a hell of a ride,” tweeted country star Billy Ray Cyrus, whose remix with Lil Nas X had ushered along with the meteoric success of “Old Town Road”.
A previously unknown Atlanta rapper, Lil Nas X last month broke the record of 16 weeks on the industry’s most closely watched singles chart.
That was set by 1995’s “One Sweet Day” by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men and matched by the 2017 Latin juggernaut “Despacito” by Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee and Justin Bieber. HM
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