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Grammys 2020: Lil Nas X Wins His 1st Grammy After Massive ‘Old Town Road’ Success

Lil Nas X Wins His 1st Grammy
Lil Nas X attends the 47th Annual American Music Awards in 2019.Matt Baron/Shutterstock

He made it! Lil Nas X won his first trophy at the 2020 Grammy Awards on Sunday, January 26, following his record-breaking success with his ubiquitous single, “Old Town Road.”

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The artist won Best Music Video for his smash hit during the preshow. He later celebrated on Twitter, writing, “THANK U TO EVERYBODY!! I AM NOW GRAMMY AWARD WINNING ARTIST LIL NAS X !!!”

The win was also the first for Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” collaborator, Billy Ray Cyrus, who took to Twitter to dedicate the award to the late Kobe Bryant. The NBA legend died at age 41 earlier on Sunday in a helicopter crash.

Lil Nas X, 20, began the night with six nominations, tying with Billie Eilish and nearly edging out Lizzo with her eight nods. The rapper is also up for Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Best New Artist, Best Pop Duo/Group Performance and Best Rap/Sung Performance.

Lil Nas X Wins His 1st Grammy
Lil Nas X at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards on January 26, 2020. Rob Latour/Shutterstock

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The musician is also set to perform “Old Town Road” alongside Cyrus, BTS, Diplo, Mason Ramsey and other special guests during the ceremony.

Lil Nas X opened up about what the recognition from the Grammys meant to him in a Los Angeles Times profile published in December 2019. “I’m just getting started as an artist, and I know there is so much more to come, but the nominations gave me more validation than I already had given myself,” he explained.

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In fact, the singer was still in awe ahead of the awards show. “I’ve been in a constant state of realization that this is all happening, and I have to remind myself that I deserve anything coming my way,” he said at the time.

Lil Nas X also shared his goals for his career in a Variety cover story published on Friday, January 24. “I want to rule the world, baby,” he admitted. “There is a difference between wanting to be a star or a superstar. And I want the superstardom.”

The “Panini” rapper expressed surprise over his nominations upon the announcement in November 2019. “NO F–KING WAY,” he tweeted at the time.

“Old Town Road” became the longest-running No. 1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in its six-decade history in July 2019. The track broke the record by clenching the top spot for 17 consecutive weeks. “’Old Town Road’ came after a period of feeling like I was out of options,” he told Time magazine in April 2019. “I was living with my sister. She was pretty much fed up with me being there. That’s where the chorus lyric came from — it was me saying, ‘I want to leave everything behind.’”

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