The singer is in the era of country music.
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February 15, 2024, 1:41 PM ET
• 7 minute read
Beyoncé is branching out into country, a move that's generating a lot of buzz in the country music world.
The 32-time Grammy Award winner and Texas native performed two new country-themed songs, “Texas Hold'em” and “16 Carriage,” on Sunday night during the Super Bowl, while also releasing his new album ” Act II” was announced.
On Monday, Beyoncé fans shared on social media that Ada, Oklahoma-based KYKC – 100.1 FM responded to their request to play Beyoncé's new song by saying it would not be played on the station in their home country. , a controversy arose.
Roger Harris, general manager of Chickasaw Nation Radio Stations (SCORE), which owns and operates KYKC, detailed Beyoncé's presence on two other shows in an email to Good Morning America. He said that he wanted his fans to know that. station.
“To tell you the truth, we didn't even know she was releasing country music,” Harris said, adding, “And we didn't even have that song…We didn't have a service.” “We're just a small station that hasn't received much support,” the major record label said, adding, “We really love Beyoncé.”
Beyoncé and Jay-Z attend the 66th Annual Grammy Awards at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on February 4, 2024.Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
Harris said the station has received “literally thousands of emails and nonstop phone calls” asking to play Beyoncé's new song, and after getting the song, it played it seven or eight times this week. He said he estimated that he did. “It's a little higher than normal.”
Harris added that there has been “backlash” from some of the station's more “traditional” country music listeners who “think the song doesn't deserve to be aired.”
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“But what's important to us is good music,” Harris said.
During a recent episode of The Bobby Bones Show, radio personality Bobby Bones also argued that Beyoncé is dipping her toe into the country music genre and that her songs aren't country enough. answered the critics.
The radio host brought up several non-country artists who entered the genre years ago, particularly Kenny Rogers, Conway Twitty, and Darius Rucker, saying that for them “it wasn't all that controversial. ” he said.
Bones said it would be “hypocritical” to say he's excited about Post Malone's next country album but has a problem with Beyoncé — especially after she gave a speech at the 2016 CMA Awards. -Nearly a decade after performing “Daddy Lessons” with the Chicks, she performed a country version of her song “Irreplaceable” with Sugarland at the 2007 American Music Awards.
“It's crazy to me that people are upset about this,” the “Dancing with the Stars” winner said, before going on to tell people, “That's not rural.” Ta.
Beyoncé attends the Lure fashion show during New York Fashion Week on February 13, 2024 in New York City.Michael Loccisano/Getty Images
He added: “And what we now think of as a traditional country was at one point like, 'That's not a country.'”
Bones called some fans' protests a “false outrage” and reminded everyone that “you can be more than one thing at a time.”
It's over XBones, formerly of Twitter, also cited the “historical” reasons Beyoncé and other black artists claim country music.
“Okay, let's talk about history. Country music is based on African music that was brought over on slave ships. And it's European music. It's got fiddles and banjos. So these guys… They're all screaming, 'It's not a country…unless you are.' Whether you're European or African, you're not really a country. When it comes to music. ”
ABC News contributor and SiriusXM host Mike Muse stood by Bones' comments on “Good Morning America” Thursday.
“Country music is deeply rooted in black culture and black history,” he said. “It also comes from the banjo, which is derived from a West African circular instrument.”
“The mere fact that Beyoncé is releasing new music, and the mere fact that she's doing country, will give society as a whole an opportunity to have a social conversation about country music.” added Muse. “So from that aspect, with her creating a global conversation, we're going to start paying more attention to country music, and that's going to be really great.”