4. Social media

thanks twitter pic.twitter.com/cFNjd51Jre

— nope (@LilNasX) July 26, 2019

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Because we always save the best for last, social media is what ties all the previous points together with a shiny ribbon (and a conveniently placed cowboy hat). Music videos, lyric videos, promo posts and fan interactions are obvious musts for an artist and their management, but memes reign supreme in 2019. We could compile a painfully long list of “OTR” memes, but most of them have already found a home on Lil Nas X’s Twitter page. He knows how to play Twitter like a fiddle and has perfected foolproof formulas for crafting viral tweets and using them to their fullest potential. From mentioning other celebrities (including Mimi herself) to shamelessly asking fans to stream one of his 79 remixes, Nas X had a goal in mind and he maneuvered the internet game well enough to reach it.

With the laws of the Hot 100 chart completely flipped upside down by the aforementioned points, there’s no telling if long-lasting No. 1 songs will be a more regular trend. “Despacito” did it just recently and two years later a brand new artist with no previous hits to his name made Billboard history. Will someone else tie or break the record next year? What about the year after? Or will it be another decade or two before anything like this happens again? One thing is certain though: can’t nobody tell Lil Nas X nothin’.