The superstar released two new songs, 'Texas Hold 'Em' and '16 Carriages,' off her upcoming album on Sunday.
The Beyhive won't be denied! When Beyoncé announced the upcoming release of her follow-up to Renaissance on Sunday, titled Act II, her fans were eager to get the released singles off the awaited country-themed project on the radio.
After fans stirred up online chatter about Oklahoma station KYKC 100.1 FM not playing the GRAMMY winner's newly released country singles, the station posted to social media that the song was being added to their rotation.
The general manager at South Central Oklahoma Radio Enterprises, Roger Harris, tells ET of their initial reasoning, "At the time that the original email came in requesting KYKC to play Beyoncé, we didn't play her on our country station because she wasn't a country artist and sent a generic reply. It would have been the same situation if someone had asked the station to play The Rolling Stones."
"We didn't know that after the Super Bowl she was going to drop these country songs and we did not have access to these songs until the next day since we are a small market station," the general manager added. "As soon as we saw the momentum and Beyoncé's fans inundating us with requests, we finally got the song and we played it. We are a minority owned station, we have supported Beyoncé for as long as she's been around. We are playing it now, have nothing against Beyoncé, and we love Beyoncé."
It all kicked off on Tuesday morning, when a fan on X (formerly Twitter) went viral after they shared their failed attempt to request the newly released "Texas Hold 'Em" on the Oklahoma station. Beyoncé released "Texas Hold 'Em" and "16 Carriages" in a two-song release that showcases the GRAMMY winner's smooth vocals and Houston, Texas-bred twang.
The user (@jussatto) shared a screenshot of their email exchange with the radio station, writing, "I requested Texas Hold 'Em at my local country radio station (KYKC), 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."
"This station needs to be held accountable for their blatant racism and discrimination against Beyoncé," they wrote in a follow-up post.
A Beyoncé fan account with a large following (@BeyLegion) posted a call for other fans to inform KYKC about the singer's transition into country.
"#BeyHive! Let's kindly educate Oklahoma country radio station 1001 KYKC that Beyoncé's upcoming project and already released singles are indeed country music! Remember to be kind and diplomatic. 🤠👢," the fan account posted, adding the station's X handle.
Fans took to the replies to share that they had called in or sent an email to KYKC, with some even sharing videos of their calls playing audio of the song to the station on TikTok.
That afternoon, a fan shared a screenshot they claimed came from the radio outlet saying that they would play "Texas Hold 'Em" when it began charting higher on country music charts.
Soon after, the station's X account shared a post featuring a photo of their playlist, with Beyoncé's single slotted between Zach Bryan's "Tishomingo" and Carrie Underwood's "Wasted."
"Lots of [calls] coming in for Beyoncé's Texas Hold 'Em. It's coming up in minutes," they wrote alongside the photo.
According to Billboard, "Texas Hold 'Em" was officially serviced by Columbia Records to country radio on Tuesday. The song was also reportedly added to CMT’s streaming stations and several Spotify and Apple Music country playlists.
Beyoncé surprised fans by appearing in a Verizon Wireless commercial during the Super Bowl, in which she tries to "break the internet" in a series of various high-profile stunts.
In a surprise twist, the singer accomplished her goal in real life by announcing that she'd be dropping new music at the end of the commercial -- thus actually breaking the internet (so to speak) via a high-profile stunt.
The songs are the first two singles off Beyoncé's newly announced album, which is coming out March 29.
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