By Preston Lim, edited by Kate Jeong
If you know anything about music, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. Lil Nas X quickly rose to fame with his debut Old Town Road and recently released his first album, 7 EP. In that album lies Panini, a roughly two-minute song that’s gone platinum and was also performed at the VMA’s. The music video recently released Skai Jackson, a notable youth actor. On 9/12, he dropped the first remix, featuring DaBaby. The same day, Lil Nas X announced on his Twitter: “PANINI REMIX 1 OF 25 TONIGHT! .” Since the first remix came out on the twelfth, we can expect many more in the future. Old Town Road currently has 6 remixes and counting. It topped the Billboard charts for a record 23 weeks at the time and has amassed over 1.3 billion streams. Panini is his latest hit, and he seems set on milking it. (As of 9/14, Panini dethroned Old Town Road’s 23 week record- Chart Data Twitter)
With Panini on the rise, you should know the meaning of the lyrics. If you’ve listened to it, I hope you know that it’s not about grilled Italian sandwiches (although someone should make a song about that). It’s about a character from the show Chowder, where Panini is a side character who was possessive over Chowder, the main character, and didn’t want Chowder to leave her behind. “She’s a representation of fans who love you when you’re small. Once you get the spotlight they aren’t feeling you as much.” (Lil Nas X’s annotations on Genius Lyrics). So, what’s the takeaway from all this? After all, this was just a quick update on pop culture- right? Maybe, but this could also be an inspiration. “If I’m sleeping, somebody else is up there doing what I’m finna do,” Lil Nas X says. So, take your chance, and, well, wish it on a genie. Don’t let the Panini’s of the world keep you teeny.