Earlier this month Lil Nas X stole the show with a surprise appearance at the iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas. His campy blue leather vest and pants combo engulfed in flames was show stopping. We can't wait to see the fire fit he wears when he performs at WiLD 94.9 Jingle Ball! That's right, the country-rap star and meme king will be one of our WiLD 94.9 Jingle Ball performers during an all time high in his relatively new career as an artist.
Lil Nas X's rise to fame was anything but conventional. He dropped his breakout single "Old Town Road" in December of 2018 which features a beat he purchased online from producer YoungKio for just $30. To promote the track Nas X began creating memes, something he had experience with from his days as a Nicki Minaj stan Twitter account. But it wasn't until TikTok users got ahold of the song and used if for the viral #Yeehaw challenge. People danced around in full cowboy getup with "Old Town Road" as the soundtrack. By the time 2019 rolled around, the song continued to gain attention, in large part due to Nas X's silly and down to earth personality on Twitter. Every tweet he posts consistently racks up several thousands of retweets and replies. In April of 2019, Billy Ray Cyrus hopped on the track to show his support after Billboard declared the track ineligible for the Country chart. The remix shot to number one on Billboard Hot 100 where it would reign for nineteen weeks, the first song to do so since the chart was created in 1958.
During the summer Nas X released his first EP titled 7 through Columbia Records. Currently, two songs off 7, "Old Town Road" and "Panini", hold spots in the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. Not only is Nas X breaking records, he's breaking down social barriers as well. In June, he came out as gay and is the first artist to ever do so while having a number one song. This, along with the Billboard Country controversy, sparked a national conversation about racism and homophobia in the Country and Hip Hop music communities.
In short, Lil Nas X has absolutely owned the entirety of 2019, making him one of the most relevant musical acts of this decade. What a thrill it will be to have him on the WiLD 94.9 Jingle Ball stage as we approach the end of 2019.