Beyoncé’s ‘Texas Hold ‘Em’ Becomes Her Ninth Solo No. 1 With Strong Radio Presence
Just one week after Beyoncé became the first Black woman to lead Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart with her twangy “Texas Hold ‘Em,” the single now reigns over the publication’s all-genre-inclusive Hot 100 songs list.
“Texas Hold ‘Em,” along with the single “16 Carriages,” was released during the Super Bowl and later debuted on the Hot 100 at No. 2. It moves to the peak in its first full tracking week with a total of 29 million streams and an increase of over 200% in radio reach for 16 million airplay impressions, according to data provided by Luminate. It previously debuted with 5 million.
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“Texas” becomes the singer’s ninth solo No. 1, and her first since “Break My Soul” topped the chart for two weeks in 2022 (Destiny’s Child, with Beyoncé as a member, previously scored four Hot 100 No. 1s).
With significant numbers of adds at top country stations, “Texas” has also placed Beyoncé on the Country Airplay chart’s top 40 for the first time in her career, as the song rises from No. 54 to No. 34 in the latest tracking week.
Following the arrival of both “Texas” and “16 Carriages,” fans and insiders began speculating whether country songs from Beyoncé, a Black artist whose singles have historically been serviced to pop radio, would get support from country stations. After a couple of days of uncertainty after the Super Bowl about whether her single would be promoted to the country format, it got an official push and some very encouraging initial results. Sony Nashville’s trade ads showing “Texas” got 79 initial adds, representing about half of the reporting stations — the most for any song that week.
Following the song’s debut atop Billboard’s Hot Country Songs list (which combines streaming, sales and radio), where it sits for a second week today, country champions like Dolly Parton shared their support for the historic feat. As Billboard reports, Beyoncé is also the first woman to have topped both Hot Country Songs and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. She joins Morgan Wallen, Justin Bieber, Billy Ray Cyrus and Ray Charles are the only acts to have hit No. 1 on both charts.
With Beyoncé up top, Jack Harlow’s “Lovin On Me” slips to No. 2, following six nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1 as his best-performing single on the list.
On the Billboard 200, Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign’s “Vultures” holds for a second consecutive week at No. 1. The second volume is expected to arrive on March 8, and the third part should follow on April 5. These dates, naturally, are subject to change, considering West’s history of postponements.
At No. 2 is rapper Yeat with his highest-charting title yet, “2093,” with a total of 70,000 equivalent album units and 79.15 million streams. The set was released initially as a 22-song album on Feb. 16 and was followed up by two reissues for a total of six bonus tracks. The record includes features from Future, Lil Wayne, Drake and a hidden feature from Donald Glover on the outro of the intro song, “Power Trip.”
Morgan Wallen’s “One Thing at a Time” lifts from No. 4 to No. 3 with 64,000 units earned, while Noah Kahan’s “Stick Season” moves to No. 4 and SZA’s former No. 1 “SOS” rounds out the top five.
Taylor Swift makes up the majority of the latter half of the top 10 as she surpasses the Beatles for the most weeks spent in the top 10 on the albums chart in the last 60 years. Swift has three albums in the top 10 this week: “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” at No. 6, “Lover” at No. 7 and the Grammy-winning “Midnights” at No. 9. With this, Swift’s cumulative total of weeks in the top 10 increases to 384 — across all her top 10-charting albums combined.
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