Ranking all 5 versions of Old Town Road by Lil Nas X

Lil Nas X officially has the longest number 1 streak in Billboard history. Ranking all five versions of Old Town wasn’t easy, but someone had to do it.

Every once in a while, a music artist comes along and changed music history forever. In early 2019, Lil Nas X burst on the scene with his genre-bending song “Old Town Road.”

Initially rejected by the country music establishment, Billy Ray Cyrus hopped on a remix to help him out and magic was made. The song inspired three more remixes and has been the No. 1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 for 17 weeks, which is now the longest run ever.

But which version of “Old Town Road” is the best?

5. Diplo Remix

The techno remix brought a dance feel to this country classic. However, without the original beat, it just doesn’t inspire the same feelings as the other four. Other artists have found success in creating a more dance-friendly and upbeat version of their tune, but this one just doesn’t quite do the original justice. It is still upbeat, catchy and easy to sing along to. But “Old Town Road” needs the twangy guitar and banjo to really be at its full potential.

4. “Seoul Town Road” Remix

This version features RM who is a member of the BTS. He has a great singing voice and sounds great over the beat, it is easy to see why he is beloved all over the world. However, he just can’t replace the country legend Billy Ray Cyrus. This version is the latest one released, and it doesn’t capture the same energy as the earlier version. However, this is still a great tune.

3. Original

Can’t nobody tell me nothing. That’s the vibe that Lil Nas X brought onto the music scene immediately. When he put out the song, he had no idea what he had just created, and it quickly became a viral sensation thanks to the cowboy challenge on Tik Tok.  Lil Nas X said he wanted it to be funny and catchy with a mix of rap and country. He nailed exactly what he was going for.  I mean how can you not sing along to “cowboy hat from Gucci, Wrangler on my booty.” The reason this version isn’t No. 1 is that Mason and Thug was the collab we didn’t know we needed.

2. Remix with Young Thug and Mason Ramsey

This version is a combination of 4 artists that I don’t think even the craziest A&R person could have dreamed of putting together. Well, somebody at Columbia Records did. “If you ain’t got no giddy-up then giddy out the way” sung by an auto-tuned Mason Ramsey is the lyric of 2019. Any song where Young Thug says yee-haw is a certified classic, and according to the laws of the universe it is physically impossible for Young Thug to be on a bad song. The harmony of all four on the hook sounds like a chorus of doves.

1. Remix Featuring Billy Ray Cyrus

When Billy Ray first comes in with his “yeahhhh” you instantly get chills, and you know it is about to be something special. This is the version that went on to be the longest-running song on Billboard history and for good reasons. Billy Ray and Lil Nas X voices just blend together effortlessly, and the lyrics are catchy and fun. Billy Ray and Lil Nas X go back and forth singing about Old Town Road for two minutes and manage to make every line tweetable and memeable. The music video is like a short film and ended up being amazing. I would bet that this song gets to 20 weeks at No. 1.

Lil Nas X didn’t have to write “Old Town Road” but he did it for us, and it will most likely go down as one of the most recognizable songs in history. He has teased many more remixes of this and Panini and I know we will hear them. I put the over-under at 10 remixes for “Old Town Road.”