By Daysia Tolentino -
NBC News
Beyoncé fans, known as the
Beyhive
, are breaking out their cowboy hats and dancing in line.
After the singer debuted two country singles,
Texas Hold 'Em
and
16 Carriages
, on Sunday during the Super Bowl halftime show, some country enthusiasts hoped that Beyoncé's star power would help bring more recognition to black artists. of the genre.
Many people also pointed out the roots of country in the African diaspora and considered that Beyoncé's foray into country will be an act of vindication in a musical field that has often been perceived as
exclusive to white men
.
“I hope this opens some people's eyes to country music,” said Reyna Roberts, a Nashville singer who has performed at Reba McEntire concerts.
“Just with the release of Beyoncé's songs, in the last day I've gained about 12,000 followers just because people have seen black country music.”
Beyoncé at the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles on February 4, 2024. Kevin Mazur / Getty Images for The Recording Academy
Many of Beyoncé's fans have been anticipating a full-length country album from the Texas-born singer since she released the song
Daddy Lessons
in 2016. While fans patiently wait for
Act II
, which drops March 29, they've started to look for other black
country
artists to listen to in the meantime.
As TikTok users have posted their love for Beyoncé's new “country era,” the platform's algorithm has steered them to content from lesser-known Black country artists.
Julie Williams, a Nashville-based independent artist, posted a TikTok calling for more recognition and attention for Black country artists when people started posting about Beyoncé's two singles.
Williams said in an interview that she was optimistic that many more people would be interested in country music because Beyoncé is “a culture creator.”
“Black music is country music,” he added.
“My hope is that in this era of Beyoncé, those lines will blur and audiences will discover the country genre and its artists, and begin to innovate and bring amazing changes to the genre that have been needed for so long.”
Williams said some progress has been made in recent years, as platforms like TikTok and YouTube have allowed marginalized country artists to outsmart those who hold the keys to
country
radio .
In 2019,
Old Town Road
by Lil Nas
However, the song was controversial for country fans, leading
Billboard
to remove it from the genre's charts.
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The industry has been slow to adapt, Williams explained, despite calls to highlight country artists
blacks in later years.
She noted that
women make up a small percentage of airtime on
country radio: 11% through 2022. The figure drops to almost zero when it comes to Black female artists.
Francesca T. Royster, a professor of English at DePaul University and author of
Black Country Music
, said the contribution of black musicians to the country genre has historically been invisible to the industry.
According to Royster, modern country was born from the minstrel tradition, which used people in blackface and turned black music into a joke to entertain a white audience.
As the music became more popular, its origins in black culture and creativity
were erased
, Royster explained.
Beyoncé's move into country music is an “important act with the goal of occupying space,” he said.
“Country can potentially be something bigger that a lot of people are involved in, although I think there is still that old feeling of nostalgia and defensiveness that can be linked to the genre.”
"Black music is country music."
JULIE WILLIAMS NASHVILLE ARTIST
In her
Renaissance
project , Beyoncé elevated the black pioneers of house, ballroom and disco, and some fans believe she will be able to do the same for country artists.
Williams said Beyoncé has already started referencing black country pioneers.
She noted that
Texas Hold 'Em
begins with the banjo of Rhiannon Giddens, a Grammy-winning American country artist.
Giddens is known for her educational work around that instrument.
Last year he directed a documentary series titled
The Banjo: Music, History and Heritage
,
focusing
on the instrument's origins in the African diaspora, its role in slavery, and its popularization in American music. .
“I used to say many times that as soon as Beyoncé played the banjo on a song my job would be done,” Giddens wrote in a Facebook message.
“Well, I didn't expect it to be my banjo, and I know very well that my work is not finished, but
today is a very good day
.”
A representative for Giddens did not respond to a request for comment.
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“I think the first few lines of the song are a big statement that the banjo is a black instrument,” Williams said.
“
It was created by slaves
.
And this is an incredible black artist who has been a champion in enlightening so many people about that history, through her music and playing the instrument.”
Beyonce's new album will prove that country music can appeal to black audiences and people of color, Williams said.
Country music has long been perceived as a patriotic and white male-dominated genre.
“There's a space in this genre that often doesn't make you feel safe, that doesn't make you feel comfortable,” Williams explained.
“And so my hope is that as we bring in this new wave of people and as we change the country music industry at shows, we're going to make sure that it's a comfortable place for fans to be.”
Although the response to Beyoncé's singles has been positive among fans, there has been resistance.
Oklahoma radio station KYKC
received backlash
after a person tried to order
Texas Hold 'Em
.
The station had said it did not “play Beyoncé because we are a country music station.”
Roger Harris, CEO of South Central Oklahoma Radio Enterprises (SCORE), which owns KYKC, stated that the station did not know that Beyoncé had released songs
country when the petition took place.
Harris added that KYKC is a “small station” that is not “served by the big labels, like the bigger stations.”
“As we received more and more emails […] and more and more phone calls, we made an effort to locate the song,” Harris recounted in an email.
The song was added to the country station's playlist and the music collections of two other SCORE stations.
But Roberts, the country singer, said that was indicative of the challenges faced by black artists trying to get airplay on country radio.
“If it's hard for Beyoncé to get played on country radio, how hard do you think it is for artists like me to try to get played on country radio
?
“I hope this makes people see how difficult it is for black women, and for people of color in general, to make their presence felt in country music and get the recognition, the platforms and everything that other artists have.”