MONTERO

###

Play On Spotify

## Songs Ranking

###

MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)

###

Life After Salem

###

INDUSTRY BABY

***Montero*** (stylised in all caps) is the debut studio album by American rapper and singer Lil Nas X, released on September 17, 2021, by Columbia Records. Five singles supported *Montero*: the lead single "Montero (Call Me by Your Name)", "Sun Goes Down", "Industry Baby", "Thats What I Want", and "Lost in the Citadel". "Montero (Call Me by Your Name)" and “Industry Baby” topped the U.S. *Billboard* Hot 100, while "Thats What I Want" peaked within the top ten.

The album has guest appearances from Jack Harlow, Doja Cat, Elton John, Megan Thee Stallion, and Miley Cyrus. Musically, *Montero* is a pop rap record with influence from various other genres. It received critical acclaim from music critics, who praised its eclectic production and catchy songwriting. At the 64th Annual Grammy Awards, it received a nomination for Album of the Year making his second consecutive nomination in the category, while "Montero (Call Me by Your Name)" was nominated for Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Music Video, and "Industry Baby" was nominated for Best Melodic Rap Performance, respectively. Lil Nas X also performed "Dead Right Now" during the ceremony.

Commercially, the album topped the charts in Australia, Denmark, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, and Sweden. It peaked at number two on the US *Billboard* 200, also entering the top 10 in numerous other territories. In 2018, Lil Nas X released his song "Old Town Road", which set a record for the longest-charting number-one song on the *Billboard* Hot 100. However, with some people dismissing his success as a one-hit wonder, Lil Nas X wanted to depart from the country trap sound of "Old Town Road" when working on his debut album; instead, he focused on rap, pop, and R&B, influenced by Drake, Nicki Minaj, Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus, and Doja Cat. After releasing the EP *7*, he said he was working on an album, noting that it was going to be more personal. In early 2020, he asked Take a Daytrip, a production duo who helped with *7*, to produce his debut album, and started recording a series of demos during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdowns.

Months into production, Lil Nas X teased the album's lead single "Montero (Call Me by Your Name)" on Twitter, with positive reception. The track was later teased again in a Super Bowl commercial for Swiss hardware manufacturer Logitech, before its release was announced publicly alongside a music video directed by the Ukrainian music video director Tanu Muino on March 26, 2021. The album's second single "Sun Goes Down" came shortly after on May 21, 2021, which followed the theme of homosexuality seen in much of the final release. Both tracks were performed on *Saturday Night Live* just a day later on May 22, 2021. After the release of "Montero (Call Me by Your Name)," the popular art collective MSCHF partnered with Lil Nas X to release a modified version of the Nike Air Max 97 dubbed Satan Shoes which were temporally available on MSCHF's website. Nike was quick to sue MSCHF, which lead to a court case that was settled a month later. As a promotional technique for the project's third single "Industry Baby", Lil Nas X took to TikTok to announce that a mock court hearing would be held on the single's release date on July 23, 2021. The announcement was bundled with a promotional video featuring a fake court hearing which acted as the precursor to the song's music video, directed by Christian Breslauer of the music video production company London Alley. An early version of the album was leaked with unfinished versions of songs online on July 27. Also, 13 songs were leaked by the same person that never made it to the final release.

On August 26, 2021, Lil Nas X formally announced *Montero* in a promotional skit posted onto his YouTube channel. In the promotional video, the track "Thats What I Want" was teased as the album's fourth single. On September 17, 2021, the song and its accompanying music video was released along with the rest of the project. Sony Music Italy released "Lost in the Citadel" for radio airplay in Italy on April 8, 2022, as the album's fifth single.

## Tracklist and Schedule

Although "*The Art Of Realization"* is included in the tracklist, it is not qualified for being ranked.

## Activities

### MONTERO Interview:

**Lil Nas X - Zane Lowe & Apple Music MONTERO Interview** - a 40-minute interview between Lil Nas X and Apple Music about MONTERO the album. Available under: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZ9YMDVCJVI

### The Backlash

* **Lil Nas X’s new music video celebrates sexuality, faces backlash** - a report on the backlash recieved after MONTERO. Available under: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2poObzKy40s
* **Lil Nas X Apologizes for Satan Shoe** - short video where LNX funnily apologizes for releasing the satan shoes, after being sued by Nike. Available under: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESf8Un3g9zM&has\_verified=1

### The Polish Surprise:

**Lil Nas X - MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)(POLISH COVER) -** a polish cover of the first song on the album. Presented as a joke. Available under: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCE\_QdYUbws

### Making of INDUSTRY BABY:

The batch of videos prepared for this day was reduced due to spoiler alerts. The season producer, Wiciu decided to still post them, however with a warning about possible spoilers regarding music video of INDUSTRY BABY. This was before the *Lil Nas X GALA* event, which is when the music videos were supposed to be watched for the first time. In the end, some videos were still posted due to general knowledge of the music video by everyone.

**INDUSTRY BABY BEHIND THE SCENES** - a behind the scenes video, showing the recording of Music Video for INDUDSTRY BABY. Available under: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4uttLWqB2A

**Lil Nas X & Jack Harlow “Industry Baby” Official Lyrics & Meaning** - two aritst behind INDUDSTRY BABY clarifying meaning and easter eggs that appear in INDUSTRY BABY song. Available under: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2d-fbZVezU

### The LNX Humour:

**Lil Nas X being funny for 5 minutes straight** - a compilation of funny clips with the artist Lil Nas X. Available under: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZj4D9bvMWs

**Lil Nas X TikTok Compilation** - a compilation of funny TikToks made by Lil Nas X himself. Available under: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-86FsNg0jbo