The release of Lil Nas X’s song “Old Town Road” has come with controversy after Billboard decided to pull the plug on the song’s place in the “Hot Country Songs”. Even after the remix was released with Billy Ray Cyrus, it was unfair to take the song off the list because of the song’s country roots.

The lines of country have been blurred over the years with songs like Pitbull’s “Timber” and Florida Georgia Line’s “Cruise” featuring Nelly. With these less traditional country songs being counted as country, there is no reason “Old Town Road” should not fall under these parameters.

I fully believe the original was a country song, but in the real world concessions must be made. With the addition of country music legend Billy Ray Cyrus, the remix falls into the country genre.

I understand how some people might bring race into the debate, but the fact of the matter is the original version was a country song. The addition of Billy Ray Cyrus to the remix ensures the song is country.

Country singer Shane McAnally had his own take on this debate. “Country is a lot of different things. I think by inclusion we just bring more people to the traditional music,” McAnally said.

If country artists can accept that “Old Town Road” is classified as a country song, then Billboard should also include it in the country genre.