ABC/Image Group LALil Nas X has a new accolade to add to his collection. The country rapper and singer-songwriter behind 2019’s mega-hit, “Old Town Road,” is among the winners list for Smithsonian magazine’s 2019 American Ingenuity Awards.
Lil Nas X’s award is in the category of Youth; other categories include Social Progress, Technology, Physical Sciences, Life Sciences and the Performing Arts, according to Smithsonian, which is the flagship publication of the Smithsonian Institution.
The honor is in recognition of Lil Nas X’s innovative approach to mixing musical genres, especially at a young age. The 20-year-old artist made serious waves in the country genre in 2019, after “Old Town Road” went viral on the TikTok app. During its rise, the track inspired heated debate over what qualifies a song to fit into the country genre, and a remixed version featuring Billy Ray Cyrus went on to spend 19 weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Lil Nas X also took home his first-ever CMA trophy at the 2019 CMA Awards last week, when “Old Town Road” won in the category of Musical Event of the Year.
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