Incredibly the remix of ‘Old Town Road’ has now done over 1.1bn streams on Spotify (the original has done a “mere” 713m) while the official video with Billy Ray Cyrus has had over 580m views on YouTube, but that all seems a lifetime ago. The campaign for the latest Lil Nas X single, ‘Montero (Call Me By Your Name)’ is, it is fair to say, not hiding its light under a bushel. 

There was the controversy around the trainers he designed that came to be known as “Satan Shoes” as only 666 pairs were made (selling for $1,018 a set). They allegedly contained a drop of human blood in the sole (soul?) and featured the words “Luke 10:18” (a Bible reference to Satan’s fall from Heaven). They were, however, quickly recalled due to a copyright and trademark dispute with Nike as the trainers included an inversion of its “swoosh” logo. 

Arriving – almost with intentionally impeccable timing – at the same time as the legal tussles over footwear was the launch of the Twerk Hero game to push the ‘Montero (Call Me By Your Name)’ single. 

Created by Roni Games, the browser-based game involves a digital version of Lil Nas X with his back to you, wearing only CK boxers and thigh-length boots. “Grab the booty,” say the on-screen instructions, “and hit the incoming temptations!!!”

So, yes, you use the mouse to wiggle and twerk his digital backside as very pointy objects fly in from different corners of the screen. All the while the track plays and you have to score as highly as you can in the allotted time. (The top score possible is 50.) We managed to get through to the second level where the background changed and Lil Nas X was sporting a rather fetching Marge Simpson-style blue wig. 

The game is there to be shared but, really, it will not have achieved its ambition until a conservative journalist or news broadcaster sees one of their children playing it and then, while clutching their pearls, makes a very public call for it to be banned. Only then – when that happens – can it truly be considered a success.