Beyoncé has scored her first UK No 1 in 14 years with her new country single, Texas Hold ’Em.
The song, which features Beyoncé line dancing through life’s problems with a whiskey in hand, has jumped from No 9 in its second week of release, and is the first country song to reach UK No 1 since Lil Nas X’s Old Town Road in 2019. Beyoncé was last at No 1 in 2010 with her Lady Gaga duet Telephone, and her last solo No 1 was If I Were a Boy in 2008.
Although she continued to be a highly recognizable and widely talked about individual during this time, her influence in the UK’s music industry decreased slightly. Her albums 4, Beyoncé, Lemonade, and The Lion King: The Gift only yielded two songs in the Top 10 charts. However, her venture into house music with the release of her 2022 album Renaissance was well-received by the UK’s dance music community, as both singles “Break My Soul” and “Cuff It” reached the Top Five.
Texas Hold ‘Em, which will be featured on the second installment of the Renaissance album series, is gaining worldwide recognition. It currently holds the second spot on Spotify’s global Top 50, falling just behind Benson Boone’s Beautiful Things and Jack Harlow’s Lovin On Me on the US Hot 100.
At present, it holds the top spot on the US country chart, making it the first instance of a Black woman achieving this accomplishment.
Following the debut of the song, Beyoncé’s mother Tina emphasized her daughter’s background in country music on Instagram. She stated that growing up in Texas, they always embraced cowboy culture and recognized that it was not exclusive to white culture. In fact, there is a significant black cowboy culture in Texas. Tina also explained that Beyoncé and her siblings have incorporated this culture into their fashion and art since they were young. When people question why Beyoncé wears cowboy hats, Tina clarifies that it has been a part of their family’s tradition for years, as they would attend rodeos annually and dress in western attire.
In other parts of the chart, Boone’s popular and energetic song climbs to the second spot in the UK this week. Dua Lipa’s newest single, Training Season, debuts at No 4 in its first week. Joe Keery, known for his role as Steve Harrington in Stranger Things, makes his first appearance in the Top 20 with his music project DJO – his track End of Beginning jumps 89 spots to No 11.
On the album chart, the Bristol punk band Idles has achieved their second number one album with “Tangk”, following their 2020 hit “Ultra Mono”. Singer Paloma Faith has also earned her sixth Top 10 album with “The Glorification of Sadness”, which debuted at No 2. Newcomers Liverpool rockers Crawlers have made their debut on the chart at No 7 with “The Mess We Seem to Make”. Bob Marley’s greatest hits album “Legend” has re-entered the Top 10, boosted by the release of the biopic “Bob Marley: One Love”. This marks its 1,122nd non-consecutive week on the chart.
Source: theguardian.com
