An Oklahoma-based country radio station, KYKC, found itself at the center of controversy regarding its music selection policies, particularly concerning the inclusion of Beyoncé’s latest country track, “Texas Hold ‘Em.”
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The incident came to light when a local listener seeking to hear Beyonce’s fresh venture into country music requested the station to play her new song. The request led to an unexpected response, becoming a hot debate topic among fans and critics alike. The situation unfolded when the listener, identified only as Justin, reached out to KYKC with a simple request to play “Texas Hold ‘Em,” Beyonce’s new song blends her iconic sound with country music vibes. In response, Justin received an email from the radio station stating, “We do not play Beyonce on KYKC, as we are a country music station.”
Exclusively reported by The Shade Room, the radio station’s response sparked widespread reactions, with many seeing it as a refusal to acknowledge Beyonce’s foray into the country music genre. KYKC stated that they should’ve issued a generic reply and would’ve had the same response if it was a Rolling Stone song.
“If someone emailed our country station and requested a Rolling Stones song we would have probably replied the same. Beyonce’ is known for NOT being a country artist, so we just replied to that effect. But….we are actually excited that she has ‘crossed over’ to a new genre and we will watch it closely to see if bigger stations start playing it and to watch it on the chart. We do play the song on our Top 40 station, KXFC, but haven’t added it yet to our country station. We are big Beyonce’ fans here and really hope it does well, as we like seeing new artists get into the format.”
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Here are some of the reactions to Justin’s tweet after he requested the latest single to play on the radio:
The controversy surrounding KYKC’s initial response to a request to play Beyonce’s “Texas Hold ‘Em” underscores the dynamic and often complex relationship between artists, genres, and platforms disseminating their music.
Of course a COUNTRY station isn’t playing a Beyonce song. SHE ISN’T COUNTRY!!! SHE WOULDN’T KNOW WHAT COUNTRY WAS IF IT BIT HER ON THE VOCAL CHORDS!!! I AM FOR THE RADIO STATION.
She wouldn’t know what country is if it bit her on the vocal cords???? She literally was born and raised in Houston, TX. It don’t get more country than that! I understand the her primary genre of music is R&B, but her doing a country album is not all that surprising given where she’s from.