The mashup of rap and country is a winning formula: Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” has matched a Billboard record set by Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cryus’ “Old Town Road.”
“A Bar Song” is spending its 19th week on top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart and ties “Old Town Road” as the longest-running No. 1 song in the chart’s 66-year history. Lil Nas X and Cyrus reached the feat in 2019 and won two Grammys for the collaboration.
Shaboozey’s anthem, which samples J-Kwon’s 2004 hit “Tipsy,” is also spending its 23rd week on top of Billboard’s Hot country songs chart. The song is nominated for three Grammys, including song of the year, best country song and best country solo performance. “A Bar Song” was nominated for single of the year at last week’s CMA Awards but lost to Chris Stapleton’s “White Horse,” and Shaboozey lost new artist of the year to Megan Moroney, which stunned social media.
Shaboozey’s other Grammy nominations include best new artist and best melodic rap performance for “Spaghetti,” one of his two collaborations on Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter. That album gave the 29-year-old a boost after it was released in March, and his streaming and social media numbers jumped to new heights. His song eventually replaced Beyoncé’s “Texas Hold ‘Em” on the country charts, marking the first time that two consecutive Black artists held the No. 1 spot on the country charts in Billboard history.
“It’s been pretty great for [Beyoncé] to put a lot of eyes on me at one time. Her being able to put a light on me at that time period helped my roll-out. She helped amplify what I was already doing in this space, and it’s really amazing [coming from] somebody that is really influential [and a] historic figure,” he told The Hollywood Reporter in June. “It’s cool to see how far country music has reached since Beyoncé did her project. It’s cool to see the music reach all over the world.”
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