Lil Nas X and Friends Will Bring ‘Old Town Road’ to the Grammys
Anyone who covered or mashed up "Old Town Road" in 2019 has a chance of joining Lil Nas X on stage at the 2020 Grammy Awards on Sunday (Jan. 26). The Grammy-nominated country and hip-hop star will perform his song with Billy Ray Cyrus, Diplo and more.
Mason Ramsey and BTS are two more promised guests, but a note from the Grammys promises that even more surprise guests will appear.
Keith Urban also covered "Old Town Road" in 2019, but the song was ubiquitous last year. Hundreds — if not thousands — of covers can be found on YouTube, with many surpassing one million, five million or even 10 million views. The official music video has more than 420 million views to date.
Speaking to Taste of Country in August, Cyrus revealed secret lyrics to a song he became a part of early on, just as Lil Nas X was gaining fame:
The song has something of a complicated origination. Lil Nas X bought a beat online for $30, but that ended up being stolen from a Nine Inch Nails song, thus making Trent Reznor an official co-writer on the song. Cyrus wrote his lines with Jozzy for a remix, but before that Jake Owen was brought in to collaborate. The end result is a record-setting No. 1 song for Lil Nas X (real name Montero Hill) and some serious love at the Grammys.
Lil Nas X and Cyrus are up for Record of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. The song is also up for Best Music Video, while Nas is separately nominated for Album of the Year, Best New Artist and Best Rap/Sung Performance.
The 2020 Grammys air on CBS on Sunday at 8PM ET. Blake Shelton and Tanya Tucker are two other country performers.
See the Best Dressed from the 2019 Grammy Awards: