‘Texas Hold ‘Em’ a smash hit
Beyoncé has made music history again. The pop music icon has a pair of “twangy” new singles, “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages,” which debuted on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart. The line-dance-inspiring “Texas Hold ‘Em” was No. 1 last week and “16 Carriages” galloped into the No. 9 spot of the Feb. 24 chart, which is based on streaming, airplay and sales.
Beyoncé joins Taylor Swift as the only solo women to clinch that achievement with no accompanying artists, Billboard said, and Bey makes history as the first woman to top both Billboard’s Hot Country Songs and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts.
The superstar, who released the new songs after her Verizon commercial aired during Super Bowl LVIII earlier this month, joins Morgan Wallen, Justin Bieber, Billy Ray Cyrus and Ray Charles as the only acts to have led both the Hot Country Songs and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts, Billboard said.
Her pair of songs also charted on the publication’s all-genre Billboard Hot 100, with “Texas Hold ‘Em” climbing to the No. 2 spot and “16 Carriages” parking at No. 38.
While “Renaissance’s” first act stood on the shoulders of disco and club music giants — vogue-ing its way into the EDM genre in 2022 — the Destiny’s Child alum is similarly bringing her Houston country-music roots to “Act II,” the second album in her expected genre-jumping trilogy that debuts March 29.
While she might be among the most recognized names, Beyonce is not the only Black artist making waves in country music. Hootie & the Blowfish alum Darius Rucker, Mickey Guyton, Kane Brown, Breland, Willie Jones, Jimmie Allen, Reyna Roberts, Blanco Brown, Tanner Adell and Brittney Spencer are just a few of the contemporary artists who have left their mark on the predominantly white genre that has long had a fraught history with racism.
Beyonce witnessed that firsthand in 2016 when her “Lemonade” track “Daddy Lessons” — which highlighted her Southern roots with lyrics about her father, references to the Bible and the 2nd Amendment — was rejected by the Recording Academy’s country music committee for a Grammy Award nomination.
“Texas Hold ‘Em” is now officially being promoted to country radio and other formats, Columbia Nashville said in an email to stations on Feb. 14, Billboard said
