Their quick rise to the top of the listening charts suggests audiences and fans are eating up the two new songs Beyoncé unexpectedly dropped in the middle of the Super Bowl, but radio executives may be harder to convince, as airplay for the much talked-about songs has yet to catch up to their apparent popularity, Forbes is reporting.
“Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages” were No. 2 and 3, respectively, on the Apple Music charts as of Wednesday, the former holds a spot on Spotify’s Global Top 100 and on Tuesday Beyoncé became the first Black woman to top the Apple Music Country Chart.
The two visualizers—video content that does not have the production of a full music video— released with each song have racked up millions of views on YouTube: "16 Carriages" has been viewed 2.25 million times and "Texas Hold 'Em" had 2.7 million views as of Wednesday afternoon.
But despite the accolades, the songs have lagged behind in radio play—especially in country music.
As of Tuesday, only eight of the 150 stations that report to Billboard’s Country Airplay chart reported having played “Texas Hold ‘Em” in its first day—one station played it twice—and none said they had put the slower “16 Carriages” on the air.
Neither of Beyoncé’s new singles made it onto Billboard’s Country Airplay chart, with the publication reporting that “Texas Hold ‘Em” was played “over 200 times” though mostly on pop stations, while “16 Carriages” didn’t receive much air time at all.
Billboard warns that just because country music stations aren't playing Beyonce en masse yet doesn't mean they won't—Columbia Records serviced “Texas Hold ‘Em” to country radio on Tuesday (meaning it was sent to stations labeled as belonging in the format), which the publication thinks could help move the needle.
Traditionally, programming directors at specific stations or radio conglomerates like iHeart Media, Cumulus Media and Townsquare Media (which together own roughly 300 country radio stations) make airplay decisions; the companies haven’t responded to a request for comment from Forbes.
BEYONCÉ IS COUNTRY pic.twitter.com/qwbF5afT9H
— Bey Everything 𐚁 (@bey_everything) February 13, 2024
"I think it’s different to hear Beyoncé on a country radio station," Bo Matthews, programming director of KBAY, which has played the new music, told Billboard. "We’re going to play it more and see if the audience likes it and let them be the decider as to whether or not it continues to be on the playlist.
Bobby Bones, host of the widely syndicated "Bobby Bones Show" from iHeartMedia, on Wednesday said he would be playing the new songs "on a couple hundred stations" this weekend through the Women of iHeart Country show he programs.
he Washington Post on Tuesday called the two songs “dull, dry, unimaginative, unnecessary, unconfident and uncool.” Washington Post reviewer Chris Richards wrote that Beyoncé is a “visionary who knows full well how to make exciting, new, detail-minded, zeitgeisty stuff. These two songs are not that."
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