Pop and R&B/hip-hop superstar Beyoncé made a surprise announcement during Super Bowl LVIII on Feb. 11, releasing two tracks noticeably different in sound from the bulk of her catalog: “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages.”
The former is officially being promoted to country radio, as announced in a Columbia Nashville email to stations Feb. 14 at 11 a.m. ET, and arrives as Beyoncé’s first entry on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart (dated Feb. 24), starting at No. 54 with 1.1 million in audience via 100 stations at the format in the tracking week ending Feb. 15.
The Country Airplay survey reflects songs’ audience impressions on nearly 150 U.S country radio stations as monitored by Mediabase and provided to Billboard by Luminate.
“We immediately added it a sub-power rotation, which is where we put top-trending new music,” Alpha Media-owned KBAY San Jose, Calif., program director Bo Matthews tells Billboard of “Texas Hold ‘Em.” “I want people to hear it. One of the biggest artists in the world delivered a great country record for us to have fun with, and the song is really good. We are in the business of creating excitement for our listeners and I’m embracing the moment. Plus, there is plenty of room for great artists, even from other genres. It’s a big country tent.”
Beyoncé has banked eight No. 1 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 and seven No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 as a soloist, starting in 2003. Plus, Destiny’s Child, with her as a member, logged four leaders on the Hot 100 and two on the Billboard 200, beginning in 1999.
As a soloist, Beyoncé boasts 12 career No. 1s on the Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart, 11 on Rhythmic Airplay, seven on Pop Airplay, five on Dance/Mix Show Airplay and three on Adult R&B Airplay.
Concurrent with its Country Airplay entrance, “Texas Hold ‘Em” opens at No. 38 on Pop Airplay, with its plays on 98 chart reporters translating to 1.3 million audience impressions at the format.
Notably, Rhiannon Giddens plays banjo and viola on “Texas Hold ‘Em.” She hit No. 6 on Country Airplay in 2017 as featured on Eric Church’s “Kill a Word.” (She has charted one No. 1 on the Americana/Folk Albums list, Tomorrow Is My Turn, in 2016, and, as part of Carolina Chocolate Drops, two leaders on Bluegrass Albums.)
“We put the Beyoncé directly into a strong rotation so it can be heard. I want the station to sound as interesting as possible, because the opposite is boring,” muses Dave Parker, pd of Sinclair’s WUSH Norfolk, Va. “This song is sounding great and doesn’t sound like anything else. Plus, the feedback from listeners and even fellow staffers so far has been very positive.”
Says Tim Roberts, pd of Audacy’s WYCD Detroit, of “Texas Hold ‘Em”: “I think it’s a good record, and country is so popular right now, it’s great that she wants to be here. Just like we do with any song on our playlist, now the listeners will decide.”
All charts dated Feb. 24 – including the Hot 100, reflecting songs’ streaming, airplay and sales Feb. 9-15 – will update on Billboard.com Tuesday, Feb. 20 (a day later than usual due to the Presidents’ Day holiday in the U.S. Feb. 19).