Beyoncé makes history as first black woman with No. 1 country song thanks to ‘Texas Hold ’Em’

She’s ready for “Act II.”

Beyoncé has officially become the first black woman to secure the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs with her track “Texas Hold ’Em.”

The achievement was announced Tuesday by Billboard, which has been charting country songs since 1958.

Beyoncé’s tune also holds the No. 2 slot on the Hot 100 chart, behind Jack Harlow’s “Lovin on Me.”

Beyoncé has officially become the first black woman to secure the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs — since its inception in 1958 — with her track “Texas Hold ’Em.” Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Recording Academy The 32-time Grammy Award winner shocked listeners earlier this month when she appeared in a Super Bowl 2024 commercial for Verizon and casually dropped that she would be releasing a brand-new album. James Devaney/GC Images

The 32-time Grammy Award winner shocked listeners earlier this month when she appeared in a Super Bowl commercial for Verizon — and casually revealed she would be releasing a brand-new album.

Simultaneously, she dropped two singles: “16 Carriages” and the aforementioned “Texas Hold ’Em.”

According to the “Crazy in Love” singer, her upcoming album — out March 29 — is “Act II” of “Renaissance,” her album cycle that started with “Renaissance: Act I” in 2022.

“Texas Hold ’Em” has received 19.2 million streams, while “16 Carriages” has garnered 10.3 million and is No. 9 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs.

Almost simultaneously, Queen Bey dropped two brand-new singles entitled “16 Carriages” and the aforementioned “Texas Hold ’Em.” beyonce/Instagram

The songs were the subject of controversy when an Oklahoma radio station refused a listener’s request to play them.

KYKC responded in an email: “We do not play Beyoncé on KYKC as we are a country music station.”

Fans were outraged, with some accusing the station of “blatant racism and discrimination.”

The songs were the subject of controversy when an Oklahoma radio station refused a caller’s request to play any of the singer’s tracks. beyonce/Instagram

“The refusal to play these songs raises concerns about the station’s stance on artists of color. Whether intentional or not, such action contributes to the narrative of racial bias within the country community,” one fan wrote to the station.

Roger Harris, the general manager of the station’s owner, South Central Oklahoma Radio Enterprises, or SCORE, said that KYKC isn’t playing the new Beyoncé songs due to the size of the market.

“We are a small market station. We’re not in a position to break an artist or help it that much, so it has to chart a little bit higher for us to add it,” Harris said in a statement.

According to the “Crazy in Love” singer, her upcoming album — out March 29 — is “Act II” of “Renaissance,” her album cycle that started with “Renaissance: Act I” in 2022. WireImage for Parkwood

“But we love Beyoncé here. We play her on our [other stations] but we’re not playing her on our country station yet because it just came out,” the statement continued.

The radio station appeared to change its tune when it shared a picture of the on-air programming that had “Texas Hold ‘Em” in the queue. “Lots of call coming in for Beyoncé’s ‘Texas Hold ‘Em.’ It’s coming up in minutes,” the post read.

“Dukes of Hazzard” star John Schneider also found himself in hot water after seemingly comparing the artist to a dog marking its territory.

“They’ve got to make their mark, just like a dog in a dog walk park. You know, every dog has to mark every tree, right? So that’s what’s going on here,” Schneider, 63, said while appearing on conservative media outlet One America News.

The comment came after Schneider was asked about the Oklahoma radio station’s initial decision to not play Beyoncé’s country songs.