Lil Nas X says Montero (Call Me By Your Name) ‘may no longer be available’ on streaming platforms
‘It’s happening on all of the streaming services’
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Your support makes all the difference.Fans of Lil Nas X began to express panic on social media on Tuesday when they discovered that the country-rap crossover sensation’s latest single “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” was no longer available to play on streaming platforms like Spotify.
“Is anybody else having trouble playing #MONTERO on @Spotify? I tap on it and then it immediately stops. All other songs work,” wrote a user.
“It’s happening on all of the streaming services,” Lil Nas X replied on Twitter.
He followed up, writing, “Since ‘Call Me By Your Name’ is no longer working on many streaming services, I will be uploading the audio to pornhub at 3pm est.”
“Not even joking,” he continued. “Everybody stream ‘Call Me By Your Name’ hard today because it may no longer be available tomorrow, and there’s nothing I can really do about it. Thanks for all the support tho!”
At the time of publish, “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” showed up on Spotify but did not play. The music video is still available on YouTube, though. Some users expressed difficulty playing the song on Apple Music, depending on what country they live in.
“Go to Apple Music and click on ‘Call Me By Your Name’ to see if it’s still available in your country,” advised Lil Nas X.
No immediate reason for the song’s removal has been given at this time. The Independent has reached out to representatives at Spotify and Lil Nas X’s label representatives.
Meanwhile, Billboard has confirmed that the track is not being removed from streaming platforms.
“Montero” is the star's second number one after “Old Town Road”, a country-rap track that spent a record 19 weeks at the top of the US chart in 2019.
The controversial video for “Montero”, praised for being “unapologetically queer”, sees the 21-year-old artist – real name Montero Lamar Hill – in various guises, including as Adam in the Garden of Eden.
Towards the end of the video, he gives Lucifer a lap dance before snapping his neck and taking his crown.
While the video has received praise from fans, fellow artists and critics, the rapper received a backlash from right-wing pundits in the US over the provocative religious context.
“There was no system involved. I made the decision to create the music video,” he said in response to one critic who accused him of setting a bad example to his younger fans.
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