Like millions of people, I still listen to terrestrial radio. Only when I’m in the car! I like to hear what’s trending on the pop stations, but my area has several great classic rock stations and one good R&B station, so I listen to those as well. I never listen to the country music stations, but I have to say, on the pop stations in my area, they’re always playing the “country crossover” songs. Country music radio stations are overwhelmingly operated by and for white men, which explains the rise of “bro country” over the past two decades. Many younger female country artists rarely get played on country stations. It’s been a near-constant complaint from artists like Kacey Musgraves and Maren Morris for years. Enter Beyonce and her new country album and her two new country-music singles. Enter… the Beyhive. The Beyhive has gone on a mission to force country music radio stations to play Beyonce’s “Texas Hold ‘Em.” Will country music radio stations do it?

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, 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.

Whatever happens, or doesn’t, is likely to create waves, given the star’s status as certainly one of the two or three biggest music luminaries in the world, moving toward a format that has proven famously resistant to making its homegrown Black women into stars. If Beyonce doesn’t get big (or any) play at country, will it be a sign of entrenched racism? Or just a sign of country radio doing what country radio always does — move slowly and cautiously, that is, while waiting for cues from a powerful record company? Nervousness about how these questions might play out amid nearly all-white-male playlists is understandable.

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.

[From Variety]

There’s a lot more analysis in that Variety piece, and I think they make a legitimate point that country music radio simply moves so slowly, even with white artists on the rise, so if Beyonce isn’t getting play immediately, it doesn’t mean she won’t get played eventually. There seems to be a hive-mind with country radio too, a sense of “well what are other radio stations doing, if they’re playing it, we should.” Basically, I think the Beyhive should continue to go toe-to-toe with the country radio bros, keep applying pressure, keep hounding them. Variety’s sources also emphasize that Beyonce’s label hasn’t sent any guidance or promotion to country radio, as in, Beyonce isn’t begging those radio stations to play “Texas Hold ‘Em.” She’s waiting to see what happens organically, would be my guess.

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Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Avalon Red, Beyonce’s Instagram.