Beyonc Is The First Black Woman With A No. 1 Country Song And Its About Time

Beyonce s first-ever foray into country music is making history. 

On Tuesday, Billboard confirmed that Texas Hold Em , one of two new songs that dropped  Feb. 11 during the Super Bowl telecast, will appear atop this weeks edition of its Hot Country Songs chart. 

By securing the top spot, Beyonce becomes the first Black female artist to land a No. 1 on the chart, which measures the 50 most popular country songs in the U.S. Her second new track, 16 Carriages , will come in at No. 9. 

Texas Hold Em and 16 Carriages are set to be featured on Beyonces Renaissance: Act II, the second installment of a three-act project that began with her 2022 album, Renaissance. 

Though details of Act II are scarce, the album appears to embrace a country-rock sound, as evidenced by the first two tracks and Beyonces cowgirl-inspired look at the Grammy Awards earlier this month. 

While Act II may be a nod to Beyonces own Texas roots, her decision to forgo pop and hip-hop beats and delve into new sonic territory has incensed conservatives and garnered a mixed response from country radio. 

Last week, the Oklahoma country station KYKC-FM announced it had added Texas Hold Em to its playlists after drawing online criticism for initially refusing to do so. 

Discussing the KYKC-FM news on the conservative news channel, One America News Network, actor John Schneider likened Beyonce to a dog marking its territory. 

You know, every dog has to mark every tree, right? he said, while comparing the 32-time Grammy winner unfavorably to Shania Twain and Carrie Underwood, who have enjoyed success on both the country and pop charts. 

The discourse is, perhaps, sadly predictable given the perception of country as a conservative genre that has been slow to include  artists of color. Among those who came to Beyonces defense was her mother, Tina Knowles, who reminded fans that country music definitely was a part of our culture growing up. 

In Texas there is a huge black cowboy culture, she wrote on Instagram Saturday. Why do you think that my kids have integrated it into their fashion and art since the beginning. When people ask why is Beyonce wearing cowboy hats? Its really funny, I actually laugh because its been there since she was a kid, we went to rodeos every year and my whole family dressed in western fashion.