Indicated by its dominance on the sales and streaming fronts, Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” is clearly resonating with music fans. It clearly constitutes a pop culture moment.
Many have nonetheless wondered whether its appeal translates to the world of radio.
Based on the latest Mediabase/Critical Mass Media callout report, the answer is fairly affirmative.
Per the report, “Old Town Road” received a positive grade from 64.0% of listeners, a negative grade from 22.2% of listeners and thus a net positive score of 41.8%. It boasts a “favorite” rating from 33.5%.
Of the 17 songs measured in this week’s report, “Old Town Road” boasts the 7th-best positive score, 6th-best net positive score and 2nd-best favorite rating. The lattermost figure is particularly impressive for a song that is fairly new to radio; Ariana Grande’s enduring “7 rings” is the only song with a higher favorite rating.
For “Old Town Road,” the only weak category is negative score; it boasts the 7th-worst number in that column.
“Old Town Road” will likely claim #7 on this week’s official Mediabase pop radio airplay chart. It is quickly approaching #1 at rhythmic.
