Lil Nas X’s breakout single “Old Town Road” just broke another record. The Billy Ray Cyrus-assisted crossover hit has just become the fasted song in history to be certified diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America. Initially excluded from the Billboard country charts, the viral remix has sold 10 million units at only six month olds.
The news also puts “Old Town Road” as the first song to be achieve this status this year, on top of being the fastest track in history to do it.
Although the most impressive yet, breaking records with “Old Town Road” is nothing new to Lil Nas. Back in July, the remix broke the record for the longest time spent at the top of the Billboard Hot 100, sitting comfortably at No. 1 for 19 weeks in a row. The remix beat out Mariah Carey’s previously held record at 17 weeks, with her 1995 collaboration with Boyz II Men, “One Sweet Day.”
Past records achieving the diamond status include Bruno Mars’ “Uptown Funk,” “Baby” by Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” and “Poker Face.”
After performing at festivals and sold-out shows around the globe this year, Lil Nas announced he’d be taking a brief hiatus, which included cancelling two festival appearances.
”It’s been a wild last 7 months and im ready to take a little time off,” he tweeted on Sept. 27. “Sorry to everyone attending twitchcon or the sandbox music festival, I will not be there. I love u guys and will make it up to you some way.”
Despite the cancellations, fans surprisingly met the 20-year-old rapper’s announcement with gratitude.
Later on this year, the remix could potentially also win Lil Nas a Country Music Award. “Old Town Road” featuring Cyrus was nominated for the Musical Event of the Year, which will be revealed on Nov. 13.
“As an artist building myself up, I’m going to have to continue to make other moments,” he told Billboard. “But it’s not something that I’m upset about or anything. I mean, maybe when I’m out in public and someone asks for a picture and they’re like, ‘Where is your hat?’”