Holiday (Lil Nas X)

“Holiday” (stylized in all caps) is a song by American rapper and singer Lil Nas X. It was released on November 13, 2020 through Columbia Records as the first single from Nas X’s upcoming debut studio album, Project X (2020). A preview of the song, titled “The Origins of Holiday”, was released on November 8.

Music videos

“The Origins of Holiday” (trailer)

The music video for “The Origins of Holiday” trailer was directed by Jason Koenig, and produced by Ron Perry, Saul Levitz, Bridgitte Pugh. It has Lil Nas X overtaking the identity of Santa Claus, in a fashion similar to Tim Allen’s character in the 1994 film The Santa Clause, and features Michael J. Fox as the character of Marty McFly from the Back to the Future film series.

“Holiday”

The music video for “Holiday” was directed by Gibson Hazard and Lil Nas X, and features Lil Nas X as a futuristic Santa Claus in his workshop on December 24, 2220.

Promotion

Roblox Concert

On November 10, 2020, Roblox announced the “Lil Nas X Concert Experience”, that began on November 14, 2020 at 1pm PST. The concert was used to promote the single, with Lil Nas X singing a variety of his popular songs through a large avatar. The event was widely considered a success, with it receiving 33 million views.

Charts

Lil Nas X is back with “Holiday,” a Christmas-themed single with a wacky music video to match.

Co-directed by Nas and Gibson Hazard, the visual takes place on Christmas Day in the year 2220. Lil Nas X portrays four distinct characters within a gigantic, sci-fi Santa’s Workshop at the North Pole. Later, he takes a ride across the United States in a high-tech “sleigh” — a Christmas-red Dodge Challenger — pulled by robotic reindeer, and flies past his own versions of Mount Rushmore, the Hollywood sign, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Statue of Liberty, and Times Square.

“Holiday” marks Lil Nas X’s first new music release since his 2019 debut EP. He’s expected to perform the song at a virtual concert this Saturday, November 14th, on the children’s video game Roblox.

Nas previously appeared at this year’s virtual GLAAD Media Awards ceremony and was a guest on an episode of the HBO Max Sesame Street spinoff series The Not-Too-Late Show. The rapper co-headlined a four-hour livestream fundraiser for pandemic relief via the Shein phone app, alongside Katy Perry, and he was one of the featured commencement speakers for Facebook’s #Graduation 2020 virtual event, honoring high school and college graduates who were unable to attend in-person ceremonies this May.