An Oklahoma country radio station has responded after being accused of racism and intentionally snubbing Beyonce‘s new country track, “Texas Hold Em.”
The incident unfolded on Tuesday when X user @jusatto e-mailed the station requesting the song to be aired on Oklahoma station KYKC 100.1 FM. The station replied, “We do not play Beyoncé on KYKC as we are a country music station.”
The exchange went viral online, prompting the Beyhive to swarm the station with calls and e-mails.
I requested Texas Hold ‘Em at my local country radio station (KYKC) and after requesting, i received an email from the radio station stating “We do not play Beyoncé on KYKC as we are a country music station. @BeyLegion pic.twitter.com/eQksQemk6m
— JUSTIN ★ (@jussatto) February 13, 2024
In a statement to The Tennessean on Tuesday afternoon, the station’s general manager, Roger Harris, stated that they typically do not add new songs right away. In most cases, they wait a few weeks.
“We are a small market station. We’re not in a position to break an artist or help it that much, so it has to chart a little bit higher for us to add it,” said Harris. “But we love Beyoncé here. We play her on our [other top 40 and adult hits stations] but we’re not playing her on our country station yet because it just came out.”
The station also spoke to FOX 25 and told them they received over 2,000 emails and 1,000 calls from the Beyhive, some accusing them of racism.
“The Station is not racist. We love Beyonce,” Harris told FOX 25.
Harris characterized the email as a “standard response” to requests for songs by artists not typically associated with country music.
“If someone calls in and requests the Rolling Stones on that station, our response would be consistent,” he explained.
However, he did clarify that the station would be open to playing Beyoncé’s new songs in the future.
Beyoncé surprised the world Sunday when she dropped Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages” following her Verizon commercial during the Super Bowl.
The songs will be part of the Renaissance Act II which be released on March 29.
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