‘Old Town Road’ has dominated pop culture and the charts in 2019 like no other song has done in recent memory. Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus conquered the world for months on end, but most don’t know that Nine Inch Nails‘ Trent Reznor also had a hand in the song. And now, he’s finally – sorta – acknowledged it.
The song has been nominated for a Country Music Association award for ‘Musical Event of the Year’ and Reznor and his close collaborator Atticus Ross are included in the nomination. Why? Well, Nas X famously bought the beat for ‘Old Town Road’ for $30USD from producer YoungKio, who sampled NIN instrumental ’34 Ghosts IV’.
Well, Reznor has taken to Instagram to acknowledge the fact that he’s been nominated for an award for country music. He posted an old press image of country duo Brooks & Dunn, who are also up for the same award, and photoshopped their faces with the faces of himself and Ross, writing “new world, new times…”
While Reznor & Ross are likely to never see a CMA nomination again, they might just have the Academy Awards in their sights as they are teaming up to score the new Disney Pixar film, Soul.
In case you haven’t heard it enough, listen to ‘Old Town Road’ below. Also take a listen to ’34 Ghosts IV’ for comparison.
