Will Country Radio Play Beyoncé’s New Songs? A Superstar’s Surprise Move Will Put Old Rules to the Test

variety.com:

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic 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.