Lil Nas X has taken his horse to the old town road and ridden it to the top of the Billboard charts for 16 weeks, tying a record set by Mariah Carey and Luis Fonsi. “Old Town Road” logs its 16th week at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart this week, matching the success that Carey and Boyz II Men’s “One Sweet Day” achieved in 1995-1996. Fonsi, Daddy Yankee and Justin Bieber’s “Despacito” accomplished the feat* in 2017. No song has spent more than 16 weeks at No. 1 on the all-genre Hot 100 chart in the 61-year history of the Billboard charts. The country-rap “Old Town Road” was originally a solo song, but 20-year-old Lil Nas X added Billy Ray Cyrus to the track and it topped the charts, achieving most of its success through audio streaming. Lil Nas X is looking forward to setting a new Billboard record next week. He posted a video on Monday on social media of the “SpongeBob SquarePants” character Squidward Tentacles saying, “Please stream ‘Old Town Road.’” “Me on the Internet this whole week tryna break the Billboard record,” he wrote in the caption. “Old Town Road” initially was in a bit of controversy* in March when Billboard removed it from its country charts, deeming it not country enough (it peaked at No. 19 on the country charts). But the drama didn’t hurt the song; it only propelled* it. The single appears on Lil Nas X’s debut EP “7,” which peaked at No. 2 on Billboard’s 200 albums chart earlier this month. (SD-Agencies) | 