Good fucking question fellas…
Billboard did a good job of asking country artists on the ACM Red Carpet the other night about Lil Nas X’s new song “Old Town Road.” Ironically, it was them that first took him off the Hot Country Charts, igniting this controversy in the first place. However today, it’s #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart and it officially hopped its way onto the Country Airplay Charts at #53.
When asked if “Old Town Road” was a country song, Brothers Osborne shot it straight (no pun intended) with an emphatic NO, however Old Dominion responded with quite the unfortunate answer.
“I think it’s country, I mean, what is country these days? You know, it’s music so I thought it was pretty silly that they said it wasn’t,” said Trevor Rosen.
“I mean we’ve definitely, probably been considered ‘not country’ when we came out,” added Brad Tursi. “So, we’ve been in his shoes. So, just do your thing, buddy.”
Huh?
Look, no offense to Old Dominion, they’re nice guys, but when we start saying things like “what is country these days,” like it’s some ethereal, deep space, philosophical question of no absolute truth, we start heading down a very slippery slope. I mean, we’re not trying to define God here, it’s country music… and we have to draw the line somewhere.
A less than 2 minute rap song with a trap beat, a Nine Inch Nails sample (you’re not Johnny Cash), and as Brothers Osborne said “kinda quasi-country lyrics about a horse and boobies or some bullshit,” is unequivocally NOT country music.
As the ACM Country Group of the Year, you don’t have to be afraid to say it…
