Country Station Is Not Snubbing Beyonce’s Country Song

Country Station Is Not Snubbing Beyonce’s Country Song

A country radio station in Ada, Okla., is not refusing to play Beyonce‘s new country music, despite previous reports to the contrary.

Controversy raged online after a Twitter user claimed that country station KYKC refused to play Beyonce’s new country song, “Texas Hold ‘Em,” after he requested it specifically.

“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,'” a Beyonce fan named Justin wrote on Twitter on Tuesday (Feb. 13).

He even shared a screenshot of the email:

A popular Beyonce fan account re-tweeted his original post, and from there, the report went viral, with some fans accusing the station of outright racism in its programming decision.

But in a follow-up report, TMZ states that KYKC has yet to receive a copy of the song, along with another country station the celebrity news service contacted, since Beyonce’s two new country songs have not been formally serviced to country radio yet.

According to TMZ, staffers at the station appeared previously unaware that Beyonce had even released new country songs. KYKC tells TMZ that it played “Texas Hold ‘Em” for the first time on Tuesday afternoon, after the controversy broke.

Beyonce announced her upcoming country album, Act II, in a Verizon commercial during Super Bowl 58 on Sunday (Feb. 11), accompanied by the release of “Texas Hold ‘Em” and another new song, “16 Carriages.”

Act II is set for release on March 29. Beyonce’s new country songs are already smash streaming hits, but terrestrial country radio will be a much slower response arc once the stations actually have the new music in hand, as program directors make the decisions about adds in response to listener demand.

Beyonce previously released a country song titled “Daddy Lessons” as part of her Lemonade album in 2016. She took the stage alongside the Chicks to perform the song at the CMA Awards that same year.

See the Most Played Country Song from the Year You Were Born

Who had the most played country song during the year you were born? This list is a fascinating time capsule of prevalent trends from every decade in American history. Scroll through to find your birth year and then click to listen. Some of these songs have been lost through the years, many of them for good reason!

Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes

Source link