Will Country Stations Give Beyonce Airplay?

Is Beyoncé going to get some love at the country radio format, now that she’s released a single, “Texas Hold ‘Em,” that openly embraces the genre? 

That’s a big question mark reports Variety, as radio programmers, like many others in the music industry, are still reeling from the shock of her surprise release the night of the Super Bowl, with no apparent plan yet in place to immediately give the tune a promotional push at the format. But her move into country is certainly “topic A,” according to one programmer, even as radio pros take a pause on whether to play the music that is the talk of the nation.

The idea of whether country radio will accept or ignore Beyoncé’s new music became a flashpoint on social media Tuesday when word spread about an Oklahoma station’s terse response to a fan requesting the new release. “I requested ‘Texas Hold ‘Em’ at my local country radio station,” wrote a user on X (formerly Twitter), “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.” The tweet by user @jusatto tagged one of the many other fan accounts that act as a sort of Beyoncé defense league, and soon it went viral.

Then, guess what? KYKC’s Facebook account announced later Tuesday that the station had “Texas Hold ‘Em” coming up next in the playlist — a defensive move to fend off the hive, and/or a way for the tiny outlet to capitalize on its newfound national profile.

That initial resistance, followed by a quick acquiescence, offers little real indication of what will happen with Beyoncé’s song nationally. The Oklahoma station in question is far from any major market and is owned by a Native tribe, not one of the major radio conglomerates where programming decisions come down from on high. But it did serve to quickly focus the national social media world’s attention on the subject of whether “Texas Hold ‘Em” will be welcomed with open arms, or spurs, at the bigger chains… or whether the superstar is even concerned with that as much as her fans are.

Sony Music Nashville reps did not immediately respond to requests for comment about any plans to promote the song at country radio. Neither did reps for two of the biggest radio chains, iHeart and Cumulus.

A handful of reporting country stations played the song once on Monday, says Brian Mansfield, editor of the radio tipsheet Country Insider. Stations were taken by surprise by the song’s release Sunday night (along with a more pensive companion track, “16 Carriages”), and there was no push from Sony for them to play it when the work week started the following day, as they would normally expect from a major release. That doesn’t mean they won’t eventually; it’s not the first time a newsmaking country music song hasn’t made an immediate big splash on radio after making headlines.