Lil Nas X Returns With New Song “World’s Greatest”

Lil Nas X has returned with his first new song of the year. “World’s Greatest” follows the 2025 EP Days Before Dreamboy, and marks the latest step in a return to music following his 2025 arrest and hospitalizion after allegedly charging after police officers in Los Angeles. “‘Walk by faith, not by sight’ was my mom’s favorite phrase to say,” Lil Nas X wrote yesterday, in the caption of an Instagram post announcing “World’s Greatest.” “As I move through life it resonates with me more & more.”

The six-minute “World’s Greatest” video was directed by Phillip Youmans and shot in Lil Nas’ hometown of Atlanta. It opens in a dance studio, where the “Old Town Road” singer is rehearsing stage choreography. His dance trainer tells him, “You keep doing the same thing. You know what the problem is; you’re just not fixing it.” From there, more present-day footage is intercut with dramatized scenes from Lil Nas’ childhood. The video ends with a dedication to his late mother, Tamikia Hill. Watch it below.

Last year, Lil Nas pled not guilty to the three counts of battery with injury on a police officer and one felony count of resisting an executive officer, and faced a five-year prison sentence. In April, a judge ruled to dismiss the felony battery charges against him if he agreed to a mandated two-year treatment program. The judge noted that the decision to offer dismissal was influenced by Lil Nas’ diagnosis of bipolar disorder.

Prior to his arrest, Lil Nas had shared a number of one-off singles, including the Thomas Bangalter co-production “Light Again!" He released his first (and so far, only) studio album, Montero, in 2021.

Hattie Lindert is an associate staff writer at Pitchfork. A former editor at Resident Advisor, she has written for Rolling Stone, The FACE and The A.V. Club, among others. She’s based in New York, and born and raised in Vermont. ... Read More

Walden Green is a music writer and cultural critic who joined Pitchfork in 2024. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, his work has appeared in Dirt, The Fader, and Philadelphia. He lives in New York. ... Read More