Under the topic of things we've recently become aware, I just found out that a country song that hit the top of the charts was removed. It was a hit, but by a gay person of colour. Can you help explain this?

Can you cite a reference to its removal? I’m going to search now.
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CBS News indeed reports it was removed. I’m on a mobile device and can’t link. The Country Music authority that maintains the chart merely stated it did not have enough elements to qualify as a country song.

The decision is tainted with racism and homophobia.

Oh, this is a record of history. Well known. https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/apr/02/lil-nas-song-removed-from-billboard-not-country-enough

Oh. That was in 2019. I know country singer Billy Ray Cyrus was featured on the song and they won a Grammy for Best Video. It also won for best Pop duo so maybe it wasn’t considered country. I know the pop stations here played it. I don’t know if the country stations did or not.

It showed up on the country chart and then…. ZIP….. was taken away.

“Old Town Road” spent 19 weeks atop the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, becoming the longest-running number-one song since the chart debuted in 1958. Several remixes of the song were released, the most popular of which featured country singer Billy Ray Cyrus. Nas X came out as gay while “Old Town Road” was atop the Hot 100, becoming the only artist to do so while having a number-one record. Following the success of “Old Town Road”, Nas X released his debut extended play, titled 7, which spawned two further singles⁠, with “Panini” peaking at number five and “Rodeo” peaking at number 22 on the Hot 100. His forthcoming debut studio album, Montero, is preceded by the singles “Holiday,” chart-topping single “Montero (Call Me by Your Name)” and “Sun Goes Down”.”

“Nas X was the most-nominated male artist at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards, where he ultimately won awards for Best Music Video and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. “Old Town Road” earned him two MTV Video Music Awards including Song of the Year, and the American Music Award for Favorite Rap/Hip Hop Song; Nas X is also the first openly LGBTQ Black artist to win a Country Music Association award.Time named him as one of the 25 most influential people on the Internet in 2019, and he was named on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in 2020.”

Seems pretty racist, right?

yeah, it sat on one top of the charts but ripped away from another chart….. Telling? or what? Having success DESPITE systemic racism is success, but it doesn’t take away from the shit that systemic racism worked toward.

@chyna Oh… right.. That makes more sense. They changed their minds about it being country so that was why it initially was at number one on the country chart and then removed. I often wondered who decided what was what genre of what music style. I don’t really know much about pop music. I’m still bummed out about Iceland not winning the Eurovision Song Contest this year.

^ No need to be snippy with me. I didn’t take it off the charts, I was just looking for an explanation as you were.

No no no… I’m not being snippy… I’m being sincere! This wasn’t sarcasm. omg. I’m so bad at people.

It’s all good. I misread your post as sarcasm. You aren’t bad at people. I’m glad you are a part of Fluther.

whew…. I’m glad you’re glad I’m part of here. That isn’t the message I’m getting from every quarter (even the mods).... None of the peripheral stuff most people call ‘entertainment’ really reaches my radar, so when the situation with ‘Old Town Road’ crossed my path via a tv series on pop music, I had no idea about it and some of the situation was being framed as racist and homophobic, because, well… the southern US… so that tracks. I LOVE that the artist essentially baited the country charts with what he did. And in a way, sort of did expose some double standards and BS. But, I do think he was, as we say, ‘taking the mickey’ and they did initially fall for it, but the reversed their thoughts on the subject…. Call me an old crazy anarchist, but I love that Lil Nas X messes with the system.