Beyoncé's Country Pivot With 'Texas Hold 'Em' A Hot Topic During Country Radio Seminar: 'We're the Coolest House on the Block'

Although Beyoncé wasn't in attendance, the singer-songwriter (and her chart-topping hit “Texas Hold 'Em”) was a hot topic during the annual Country Radio Seminar held this week in downtown Nashville.

Queen Bey recently made history when “Texas Hold 'Em” debuted at the top of the Billboard Hot Country Songs. the song topped the all-genre Billboard Hot 100. In its second week on the Country Airplay chart, “Texas Hold 'Em” climbed from its No. 54 debut to No. 34.

During an early morning panel Friday (March 1) titled “Diversi-'Tea': Spilling the Data on Inclusive Programming,” panelist Travis Moon, Radio One Houston's current director of operations and KKBQ's program director , talked about being an early adopter playing “Texas Hold'Em.”

“I saw the song coming out and I was waiting for the edit that we could play,” he said. “I could be overthinking this, but my initial instinct was, 'Let's go.' Many times, we wait to see who will move first. safety in numbers. I did not care.” He went on to add, “If the listener were to turn on the station in the middle of this song, it sounds like something we would play.”

Moon didn't see playing the song — and adding to it during the day — as a huge risk. “I've been in country radio for 32 years, we've played hundreds of stiffs during the day that we never play anymore. I don't know how it will do in the research world, but it sounds great on the radio.” He also noted that during a recent event held at the station, they played “Texas Hold'Em” and “the floor was packed.”

“First of all, Beyoncé is part of a huge conversation, and you can't ignore a song she puts out no matter what genre you work in,” said her colleague Jess Wright, who served as LiveOne captain and host. /Slacker Radio since 2016. Wright noted that in their metrics, they see that “Texas Hold'Em” “has the highest ban score of any song on stations where it's played. It also has the highest heart score. We expected that because you're always going to have your traditionalists. There are people who don't want to hear it.'' He noted that listener reactions to “Texas Hold 'Em” are very similar to what he saw with the 2019 Lil Nas X/Billy Ray Cyrus smash hit “Old Town Road.” “It was the fullest and the most heartfelt,” Wright said.

On the Country Airplay chart dated March 2, “Texas Hold 'Em” was among the songs with the most increased audience and the most plays. But it remains to be seen what will eventually become of the song on country radio. During a panel discussing “Debunking Industry Myths,” Gator Harrison, Senior Vice President of Programming for iHeartMedia's Nashville Market, said, “I played [the Beyoncé track] Once I get it, we expose it, and once we've exposed it enough, we'll go research and ask, “What do you think? You like this?' We still need to have that local conversation through research with our audience.”

“Whether it's a song that sticks around for the long haul, it feels a bit like a novelty, but it sounds good, so right now we're sticking with it,” Wright said.

Earlier in the week, “Texas Hold 'Em” was also part of the discussion at another diversity-focused panel, which featured BBR Music Group Frontline Recordings leader/president North America Jon Loba, as well as singers and songwriters Frank Ray and Lily; Rose, as well as consultant Jaye Albright, and moderated by the Country Music Association's Senior Director, Industry Relations & Inclusion Mia McNeal.

Loba addressed some of the criticism that swirled around the song being part of country music.

“On Beyoncé's point, I totally understand wanting to be protective of the format, and the young artists put so much work and so much effort into that shot,” Loba said. “So I understand the thought that someone could be here… and wanted to do this their whole life. But I think there is a balance. It can [country radio] He's not going to play every Beyoncé record, but right now one of music's biggest icons is saying, “This genre is cool, this genre matters,” and we should at least, for now, embrace that. Everyone wants to be here. Come to our house. We're the nicest house on the block.”

Loba also offered a powerful reminder about the backlash surrounding the song, saying, “Also, I think the gatekeepers need to understand that the loudest voice is not always the majority.”

“I'm not surprised the way this industry has embraced this album,” McNeal said. “I think in general, most people have enjoyed it. And if some don't, they don't. And that's okay. It's art and it's something to be consumed and judged.”

At the same panel, Ray, who debuted his Latin-infused song “Streetlights,” praised the push the song is giving to other black female country artists on streaming and socials. “It elevates these other black artists who have been doing it for so long, like Brittney Spencer, Reyna Roberts and Tanner Adell — if we can do that with a Mexican artist, that would be awesome.”

“This song is more country than 33% of the stuff on country radio right now…he just wrote a country song and it's great, and it's a tide that lifts all boats,” Rose added.

“Spilling the Diversi'TEA” colleague Jada Watson, assistant professor of Digital Humanities in the School of Information Studies at the University of Ottawa (and principal investigator on the SongData project), noted that since the release of “Texas Hold 'Em,” they have increased consumption and engagement numbers on DSPs and social media platforms for Black country artists — including Rissi Palmer, Tanner Adell and Reyna Roberts — but that largely hasn't translated into radio support.

“I don't see it on the radio yet, but I recognize it's week three,” Watson said. She also spoke about concerns about whether this will signal continued support for other black female country artists: “That's where my concerns are now — how and when will this translate into support for black women who follow country music?”

The comments from the panels came as part of an ongoing larger conversation about increasing diversity in country radio and opening doors to include and showcase more female artists and artists from the Black, Latino and LGBTQIA+ communities.

Moon advocated for radio to take more chances and look beyond what the research can show, pointing to the success of Gabby Barrett's 2020 hit 'I Hope' as an example, saying the song “had quite a bit of negative [scores] and enormous high passion [scores]. I ignored the negatives and it ended up being a big hit. A lasting blow.”

“The reality is that when you try music, it's a self-fulfilling prophecy,” Moon said. “If we have fewer female artists in our music tests, when people take the test, it feels like a little bit more of a novelty. They are not used to hearing much [of female voices on radio], so you will have higher negatives as a result. In the past I've ignored the negatives about female artists and specifically look at the love effect,” she said, later adding, “That doesn't mean I'm going to force it, but that doesn't mean I'm going to put a song on it. There is a specific context. I look at artists and not [do] only one size fits all negative ratings. That's one rule I'm willing to break, [in order to] try to find, unlock that passion.”

Rose, who was named Outstanding Artist at the 2022 GLAAD Media Awards, said: “I think with fans, you just have to be patient. They just want to be touched. They just want to hear a good song.”

“We don't give the public enough credit,” Loba said. “At the end of the day, people want to hear great music. We as labels just have to deliver it and the gatekeepers do as well.”

Loba's sentiment was echoed during the panel Friday morning, with Wright telling attendees, “We have to play good songs and find great music wherever we find it.”

Watson also noted the benefit of increasing the diversity of artists and sounds found in country music in reaching members of country music's vast audience, saying, “The country music audience is much more diverse in every way than , what do we know I think what's exciting about this moment is that we have the tools to really discover who that audience is not just now, but who they've always been. And I think once we start to know who that audience is, we'll start to see changes that reflect a greater diversity in the industry as well.”