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Beyoncé became the first black artist to top the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in modern country music history, thanks to her country debut “Texas Hold 'Em,” which also debuted at number two on the Hot 100 Publication announced on Tuesday.
“Texas Hold 'Em” dethroned Zach Bryan and Kacey Musgraves' “I Remember Everything,” which spent 20 weeks at No. 1 on the country charts and topped the Hot 100 last year. Beyoncé particularly benefited from strong streams and sales, with “Texas Hold 'Em” recording 19.2 million streams and 39,000 traditional sales (according to Luminate) last week as Beyhive attempted to push the song onto the charts. The song also received 4.8 million radio listens.
“16 Carriages,” Beyoncé's other country song, peaked at number nine on Hot Country Songs. It has 10.3 million streams, 14,000 sales and 90,000 radio impressions.
After Beyoncé surprise-released “Texas Hold 'Em” and “16 Carriages” during the Super Bowl last week, fans and industry insiders speculated about whether the music would be embraced by the traditional country industry. Beyoncé's record label Columbia announced last week that it had officially promoted “Texas Hold 'Em” to country radio, and the song became the singer's first-ever entry on the country airplay chart, debuting at 54.
Beyoncé is not the first woman of color in country music, as other artists such as Mickey Guyton and Brittney Spencer have found success in recent years, while Linda Martell paved the way as the first black female solo artist in 50 years. But as chart history shows, the country is still predominantly white and predominantly male. Despite a handful of female songwriters like Alice Randall and Tayla Parx with “Number One” co-writers, no black female songwriter had exclusively had a number one country song until last year, when Luke Combs scored a hit with Tracy Chapman's “Fast Car.” song written.
The fact that the first black woman to top the country charts isn't a traditional country act probably hasn't been lost on the industry, but Beyoncé's success could be a reminder to the other black country artists who have dabbled in the genre for years. get more attention. Still, Beyoncé's commitment to venturing deeper into the country scene isn't entirely infallible. The Texas native showed country influence early in her career with Destiny's Child and later as a solo artist on tracks like “Daddy Lessons.”
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Beyoncé's country pivot comes at a time when pop is turning to country more than ever, with the likes of Morgan Wallen, Bryan, Combs and Jelly Roll topping the charts with big streaming numbers.
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Aside from Beyoncé, Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign topped the Top 200 Albums chart with “Vultures 1,” despite a chaotic album release that included multiple accusations of unauthorized samples, as well as a brief removal from Apple Music and a change in music distributors after the original distributor, FUGA, said on Friday that they wanted to withdraw the album. The duo's “Carnival” also landed at number three on the Hot 100.
With “Texas Hold 'Em” now on the charts, the question is how the song will fare on the charts next week. Will country radio continue to distribute the song? Will it rise on the Hot 100? Stay tuned.