Keith Urban Paves The Way For “Old Town Road”
Keith Urban took the road less traveled… with banjo in hand.
On Saturday, the reigning ACM Entertainer of the Year hit social media and posted a video worthy of his title. Just Keith, a camera, and a banjo gave the viral and controversial Lil Nas X song total country cred.
— Keith Urban (@KeithUrban) April 13, 2019
The controversy lies with Billboard and their definition of country. After the original song went viral and hit the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, debuting at #19, it was pulled when the powers that be deemed it not to be a country song. This action sparked a chain reaction, igniting a debate on what is country and what isn’t and race played a role in their decision.
Billy Ray Cyrus got on board, and the song was re-cut and released as a duet. This version made it’s way back onto a Billboard chart, the Country Airplay Chart, where it currently stands at #53.
You can’t escape that it’s a hit. It’s about to break a streaming record, previously held by Drake. “Old Town Road” is estimated to hit 80 million on demand streams in a single week. You can’t escape it… from ball parks, to clubs and retail. It’s everywhere.
Here’s to hoping the simple and sonically refined Keith Urban version makes it’s way on to radio.
