Why did country music reject Old Town Road?
In March 2019 Lil Nas X, Old Town Road went to number 19 on the Billboard Hot Country Chart but was disqualified as it didn't fit the country genre. Billy Rae Cyrus then added a vocal and the new version rocketed to the top of the flagship charts. Country music singer Jimmie Allen thinks it wouldn't have been disqualified if it had been sung by a "white guy... with a cowboy hat on". But RJ Curtis, head of the Country Radio Broadcasters organisation, argues the song "wasn't a sonic fit for country radio".
Image: Billy Ray Cyrus and Lil Nas X Credit: Lil Nas X
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