Matty Jacobson
It’s not a nice experience to make a song request from one of your favorite radio stations and it blatantly just gets rejected. Especially when you’re requesting one of the biggest musicians out there like Beyonce.
You’re probably thinking, ‘Hmm, no one can refuse a request to play Beyoonce’s song”. Well, well, well, newsflash: a country radio station in Oklahoma did. And to be fair to them, it wasn’t out of hatred for the singer. Follow us carefully till the end as we let you in on what really went down.
The Uproar Started On X
The genesis of this story was when @jussatto, an X user (formerly called Twitter), shared a post on the platform. It included a screenshot of an email received from South Central Oklahoma Radio Enterprises ( S.C.O.R.E. Broadcasting).
He further wrote, “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 Beyonce on KYKC as we are a country music station.'”
Fans And Their Reactions
The screenshot made rounds on X, and as expected, the online community came for KYKC. A follow-up statement to the post read, “This station needs to be held accountable for their blatant racism and discrimination against Beyonce.”
A Beyonce fan account (@BeyLegion) with a huge following has a nicer reaction to the news. A post from the account encouraged #BeyHives to educate the radio station in a kind and diplomatic way that Beyonce’s new singles are actually country music.
They Say It’s For A Good Reason
Following the backlash, KYKC came out to tell their side of the story. Roger Harris, the station’s general manager, stated that the reason they didn’t grant the request was because the new single was yet to have a large market.
He also said, “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.”
For The Love Of Beyonce
Now that KYKC has spoken, everyone seems to have heaved a sigh of relief. The general manager also emphasized the station’s love for Beyonce while defending their actions. He mentioned that “…we love Beyonce here. We play her on our [other top 40 and adult hits stations]…”
Well, in their defense, who wouldn’t love her? But still who knows if the manager said those words just to get back into the good books of their listeners.
More About S.C.O.R.E
S.C.O.R.E is made up of five radio stations, including KYKC. And their services range from FM to country. Harris explained in his response that KYKC follows the pattern of bigger radio stations.
They can only play a song when a more prominent station has. The second biggest determining factor to them is the song’s position on the charts.
It Wasn’t About Beyonce
The email response to @jussatto is the station’s standard response to a listener’s demand to play an artist who is not known primarily for country music. According to Harris, it has nothing to do with Beyonce, and a request to play Rolling Stones would have gotten that exact feedback.
However, now that Beyonce sings country music, they’ll be able to play them once they rank higher on the charts. Moreso, Harris expressed his excitement to play “someone different doing a country music song.”
Beyonce: The Queen of Femme Pop
Beyonce holds the unparalleled title of “the first lady of music”, and she has an iconic legacy in music history. One thing that stands out is how she promotes female empowerment by embracing freedom, femininity, and independence.
She has also earned numerous recognitions and awards. She has a loyal following called Beyhivers.
She Has 20 Records To Her Name
Queen Bey has 20 Guinness World Records to her name. Some of these include Most BET Awards nominations for an individual.
Most wins at the MTV Video Music Awards, most Grammy Awards won by a female artist, and the Highest-ranked female musician in Forbes’ “Celebrity 100” list.
“Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages”
Beyonce shocked both her fans and the whole world with two new country songs she released on Super Sunday-“Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages.” The reactions to the songs showed that absolutely no one saw that coming.
The beauty of these songs is that they break the industry’s status quo by revealing the Black roots of the country genre.
The Singles Are Breaking Records
As of Wednesday, “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages” were in the top 2 and 3 positions on Apple Music charts.
Also, “Texas Hold ‘Em” is comfortably occupying a spot on Spotify’s Global Top 100. To crown it all up, Queen Bey is now the first Black woman to lead the Apple Music Country Chart.
Beyonce And Country Music
As seen on music streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music, country music lovers have been embracing Beyonce. Apart from her recent release, Beyonce dabbled into country music as far back as 2016 with her hit song “Daddy Lesson.”
In the same year, she performed with a country band called the Dixie Chicks at the Country Music Association Awards. A performance that got a lot of attention amidst claims that the CMA didn’t properly acknowledge it on their social media accounts.
She Never Disappoints
Beyonce had announced to her fans that she’d be releasing her Act II album on March 29th, which would be a sequel to her 2022 Renaissance. On Super Sunday, she starred in a Super Bowl ad where she shared the news. Then she dropped some singles off the country-themed project.
There’s a lot of buzz going on about what to expect on the album. While some are looking forward to a Beyonce and Taylor Swift collaboration, others are guessing that Beyonce and Lady Gaga will reunite. We’ll keep our fingers crossed. But one thing we know is that Beyonce never disappoints!
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