Country Radio Executives Show Strong Support for Beyoncé's 'Texas Hold 'Em'

Top radio executives are expressing optimism about Beyoncé's latest single, ‘Texas Hold 'Em’, finding a welcoming home on country radio. Despite initial speculations suggesting a potential challenge for a crossover track from the global superstar, these executives believe otherwise.

They emphasise that the ultimate decision lies with the listeners, but they see no inherent reason why a song, musically aligned and delivered by one of the world's most prominent artists, should face resistance instead of acceptance within the country genre.

Brian Philips, the chief content officer at Cumulus Media, recently convened a Zoom meeting with programmers from the chain's major country stations. During this meeting, there was widespread enthusiasm expressed for ‘Texas Hold 'Em’. 

Philips described the track as a gift, highlighting the potential for its success within the country radio landscape. A programmer believes that ‘Texas Hold 'Em’ will receive a more favourable reception in the country genre compared to Beyoncé's native formats. "The Top 40s don’t know what to do with it because their audience doesn’t know how to react to it. Which makes sense," the programmer explains. "So they’re the ones who should be written about as having a quandary."

However, whether the audience of these stations will fully embrace this new addition or prefer to prioritise familiar country artists like Kane Brown, Cody Johnson and Thomas Rhett remains uncertain. 

Typically, it takes several months for a song to ascend to the top 10 on country radio charts, but stations may adjust their playlists for ‘Texas Hold 'Em’ with a shorter lag time. As reporting stations begin to add Beyoncé's single to their playlists, the prevailing reception may become clearer by the time industry tipsheets publish their ad charts next week.

-Sushmita Sarkar