The rapper and his chart-topping hit were a crossover sensation this year.
Lil Nas X had one of the biggest country hits of the year with "Old Town Road," and now, he's got some brass to silence even his harshest critics.
The 20-year-old rapper got his first-ever country music award on Wednesday, winning Musical Event of the Year CMA Award, which announced ahead of the show. Nas was awarded the prize for the (first of many) "Old Town Road" remix, which featured Billy Ray Cyrus, and beat out country superstars like Maren Morris, Brooks & Dunn, Garth Brooks, Blake Shelton and more in the category.
Nas tweeted about the exciting news, which was announced on Good Morning America, writing, "LET'S GOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!"
"Old Town Road" rocketed Lil Nas to musical superstardom, but not without a bit of controversy. Following the release and initial success of the original song, Billboard removed it from their country music charts, saying in a statement to Rolling Stone, "While ‘Old Town Road’ incorporates references to country and cowboy imagery, it does not embrace enough elements of today’s country music to chart in its current version."
The song went on to top the Billboard Hot 100 chart for 19 consecutive weeks -- a new record, beating out the previous mark of 16 weeks held by both "One Sweet Day," by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men and "Despacito" by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee featuring Justin Bieber -- and topped the singles charts in at least 10 other countries.
ET caught up with Cyrus at MTV's Video Music Awards back in August -- where "Old Town Road" won Song of the Year -- and he raved about the fan response to the massive hit.
"Tonight's just a celebration, to be here with these fans, the fans made the song happen," he said. "It's their record and being here tonight is just so much fun."
Cyrus chatted with ET shortly after he introduced Nas' performance of his single, "Panini," and he didn't hesitate to show his admiration for the young artist, who helped rocket him back to the top of the charts.
"It's crazy, it's crazy. Again, the people took this song and they made it their own, you know. It's just been a heck of a ride and it's been a lot of fun," he gushed. "Seeing Lil Nas take the stage just now, I mean, he's electric."
See more on the massive hit in the video below.
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