Is ‘Texas Hold ‘Em’ Country Music? Beyoncé’s New Single Sparks Genre Controversy

Beyoncé fans are forcing country radio stations to play her new country single, “Texas Hold ‘Em.” One particular Oklahoma-based radio station was moved to play it after initially denying it on their airways. Read more about the Beyhive’s impact inside.

One fan emailed KYKC requesting Beyoncé’s new song, “Texas Hold ‘Em, one of two country songs the global sensation released on Super Bowl Sunday. The fan’s request was met with pushback.

The Oklahoma-based radio station responded to the fan’s email, saying: “Hi — we do not play Beyonce on KYKC as we are a country music station.”

The fan posted a screenshot of their correspondence on X, formerly Twitter, late Tuesday (Feb. 13) morning. The post has since gone viral, and the Beyhive swarmed to make additional requests for “Texas Hold ‘Em,” to be played on the station and several others.

I requested Texas Hold ‘Em at my local country radio station (KYKC) and after requesting, i received an email from the radio station stating “We do not play Beyoncé on KYKC as we are a country music station. @BeyLegion pic.twitter.com/eQksQemk6m

— JUSTIN (@jussatto) February 13, 2024

The station received countless calls and emails requesting for the song to be played. A few hours after the viral X post, KYKC posted to Facebook an image of its show schedule, which showed the song in a 2:28 p.m. time slot.

“Lots of calls coming in for Beyoncé’s Texas Hold ‘Em,” the caption said. “It’s coming up in minutes.”

KYKC shared with NPR that they did not realize the song was out, and that the distributor had not yet sent it. The statement also shared that local listeners, “did not really want us to play it.”

“I’ve heard R&B stations play Adele, Justin Bieber, Justin Timberlake with no problem and didn’t tell them ‘Oh we not playing their music because XYZ’,” one user said. “The same grace needs to be given when black musicians decided to pursue another genre of music [i.e.] country.”

In a more extensive statement to The Tennessean, Roger Harris, the general manager of South Central Oklahoma Radio Enterprises (SCORE), said: “We are a small market station. We’re not in a position to break an artist or help it that much, so it has to chart a little bit higher for us to add it. But we love Beyoncé here. We play her on our [other top 40 and adult hits stations] but we’re not playing her on our country station yet because it just came out.”

As of 7:19 p.m. Tuesday, the station commented on Facebook that it had already played “Texas Hold ‘Em” twice.

Lil Nas X faced similar backlash back in 2019 when he released “Old Town Road,” which blatantly fuses sounds of rap and country music. The song first charted on Billboard’s Hot 100, Hot Country Songs and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. But the publication later removed the song from the country chart, claiming it did not have enough elements of country music. The decision was criticized by country mainstay Billy Ray Cyrus, who was eventually featured on the remix.

Do better, country music, because Beyoncé is clearly here to put her lasso in the ring.

SEE ALSO:

Black Country Music Trio Makes Splash With Hit Single ‘You Can Have Him Jolene’

Tracy Chapman Becomes First Black Woman To Top Country Billboard Charts

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