Arts & Entertainment
Lil Nas X’s ‘Old Town Road’ breaks Billboard chart record
Single beats out ‘Despacito’ and ‘One Sweet Day’
Lil Nas X’s hit single “Old Town Road” is now the longest-running number-one single in the 61-year history of Billboard’s Hot 100.
“Old Town Road” has spent 17 weeks at number one outlasting “One Sweet Day” by Mariah Carey and Boys II Men (1995-1996) and “Despacito” by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee featuring Justin Bieber (2017), which tied for the record at 16 weeks.
“YEEE TF HAWWW,” the out 20-year-old rapper tweeted.
YEEE TF HAWWW ?ā”ļø
— nope (@LilNasX) July 29, 2019
Lil Nas X also posted a video celebrating the big news.
“I’m on the toilet right now, but I want to say thank you to every single person who has made this moment possible for me. We just broke the record for the longest-running No. 1 song of all-time,” Lil Nas X says while “Old Town Road” plays in the background.
— nope (@LilNasX) July 29, 2019
“Old Town Road,” which was originally a solo song, became a viral hit with people dancing to the song on social media upon its initial release. Billy Ray Cyrus was featured on a remix of the song followed by more remixes from Diplo, Young Thug, Mason Ramsey and RM of K-pop group BTS. Billboard calculated all of the remixes when determining the record.
Carey congratulated Lil Nas X on the achievement by posting a photo of herself “passing the torch” to him.
“Sending love & congrats to @lilnasx on breaking one of the longest running records in music history! We’ve been blessed to hold this record with a song that means a great deal to @BoyzIIMen and myself and has touched so many. Keep living your best life! ā¤ One Sweet Day will always hold a special place in my heart and I want to thank anyone who’s ever told me how this song has affected them and their loved ones,” Carey wrote.
Celebrity News
More than 1 million people attend Madonna concert in Rio
Free event took place on Copacabana Beach on Saturday
An estimated 1.6 million people on Saturday attended Madonna’s free concert on Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana Beach.
The concert, which was the last one as part of Madonna’s Celebration Tour, included a tribute to people lost to AIDS.
Bob the Drag Queen introduced Madonna before the concert began. Pabllo Vittar, a Brazilian drag queen and singer, and Anitta, a bisexual pop star who was born in Rio’s HonĆ³rio Gurgel neighborhood, also joined Madonna on stage.
Congresswoman Erika Hilton, a Black travesti and former sex worker, and Rio Municipal Councilwoman MĆ“nica BenĆcio, the widow of Marielle Franco, a bisexual Rio Municipal Councilwoman who was assassinated in 2018, are among those who attended the concert.
“Madonna showed that we fight important fights for the human rights of Black (people), young (people), women and LGBTQIA+ people, and against all injustice, discrimination, and violence,” saidĀ AssociaƧao Nacional de Travestis e Transexuais (National Association ofĀ TravestisĀ and Transsexuals), a Brazilian trans rights group known by the acronym ANTRA, on itsĀ X account.Ā “What they call identitarianism’ is our subversion to the retrograde and conservative tackiness that plagues the country.”
The Associated Press reported the concert was Madonna’s biggest ever.
The DC Center for the LGBTQ Community, SMYAL and Rainbow Families sponsored Gay Day at the Zoo on Sunday at the Smithsonian National Zoo. The Smithsonian observed International Family Equality Day with special exhibits and an event space.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Covering Gay Day at the Zoo for @WashBlade . Here at @NationalZooDC pic.twitter.com/LqgGNOOAiM
— Michael Patrick Key (@MichaelKeyWB) May 5, 2024
Photos
PHOTOS: Taste of Point
Annual fundraiser held for LGBTQ youth scholarship, mentorship organization
The Point Foundation held its annual Taste of Point fundraiser at Room & Board on May 2.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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Itās game, set, and mismatch in unfulfilling āChallengersā
