When “Old Town Road” broke the internet in April of 2019, Lil Nas X seemed to be a kid that got lucky with a viral track. The song’s popularity looked like a fluke people originally only listened to ironically. Once Billy Ray Cyrus hopped on the remix and showed Billboard that “Old Town Road” deserved to be on the country charts, Lil Nas X became a household name.
This began his tactics to use the criticism, hate, and what people have against him in his favor. “Old Town Road” wasn’t country enough; he got Billy Ray Cyrus on the track. Homophobic critics told him he was going to hell, so he made a video lap dancing on Satan. Nike sues him for using their label without permission, he trolls them in a fake trial at the beginning of his “Industry Baby” music video. This is what makes Lil Nas X stand out from the crowd. In moves that only a member of Gen Z could pull off, Lil Nas X has an authenticity with his presence that has been lost in the age of publicists controlling an artist’s every move.
Lil Nas X’s long-awaited album, Montero came 2 years after he broke TikTok with “Old Town Road”. Lil Nas X’s rise to his debut album was a series of using the hate as fuel for his next move. Would Montero be reminiscent of “Old Town Road’s” genre-bending? Would it be closer to his lead single “Montero” that focused on visuals and had a traditional pop sound? Or, would it coincide with the hip-hop inspired “Industry Baby” featuring breakout rapper, Jack Harlow?
The album proved to be more than just a collection of viral songs. Lil Nas X bares more of his soul on the album than his singles did. “One of Me” featuring Elton John, a music veteran, slows down the pace of the album as Lil Nas X responds to the critics for calling him a “gimmick”. “Sun Goes Down” and “Void” also exhibit Lil Nas X’s vulnerability as he discusses his insecurities and desire to run away at times. In “Sun Goes Down”, he reiterates, “I want to run away,”. This is followed up in “Void” with lyrics like, “I spent inordinate ‘mounts of time, trapped in a lonely loner life, looking for love where I’m denied.” The album closes with an emotional duet with Miley Cyrus titled, “Am I Dreaming” as Lil Nas X pleads with the audience to “never forget” him. These songs show another side of Lil Nas X which doesn’t require him to do a lap dance for the devil or make out in a pink football uniform. Lil Nas X proves he’s not just another viral TikToker. The craze of rushing to see the latest music video has been lost in an ultra-digital age, and the days of sitting in front of MTV binging music videos are long gone. When “Montero” and “Industry Baby” dropped, for the first time in years people flocked to see music videos. Lil Nas X’s videos not only have alluring visuals, but they tell a story, often in direct response to criticism levied against him. His personality on social media is undoubtedly authentic and his marketing strategies never cease to amaze. Montero proves Lil Nas X is not just a lucky teenager that cracked the TikTok algorithm.