“Damn Beyhive, you still scary”: Oklahoma country radio station adds Beyoncé to their rotation after facing social media backlash

Beyonce

Beyoncé’s country music got rejected by a local radio station (Image via Beyonce/Instagram,YouTube)

An Oklahoma-based country radio station named KYKC got in hot waters with Beyoncé fans online after a fan claimed they had refused to play one of her songs. A post on X with the alleged screenshot of an email detailing they couldn’t play Texas Hold ‘Em went viral with many calling out KYKC for not playing it despite it being categorized as country pop.

The radio station did finally acquiesce to the demand after the backlash, having clarified in a subsequent post that they had added it to the rotation after many requests from fans. This has led many to praise the Beyhive, the un-official Beyoncé fandom, for their online activism, with one X user writing:

“Damn Beyhive, you still scary.”

Beyoncé fans were in uproar after KYKC radio station allegedly refused to play Texas Hold ‘Em

Beyoncé announced her upcoming album, which is slated to be part of the Renaissance trilogy, is set to release on March 29 in a Superbowl Ad during the game. Texas Hold ‘Em, which is a part of the album, got a surprise release on February 11 along with 16 Carriages.

The eighth album, tentatively titled Act II, takes inspiration from country music and has generated a lot of buzz on social media after the co-lead singles were released over the weekend. However, one fan alleged that his request to play Texas Hold ‘Em was denied by a local country radio station because the singer is primarily known for her pop songs.

In a post, X user @jussatto claimed that the KYKC had refused to play and even shared a screenshot of an email sent by the radio station which reads:

“We do not play Beyoncé on KYKC as we are a country music station.”

The post angered a lot of her fans, with many calling out the Oklahoma-based radio station for not playing the song just because of the artist. Some even went so far as to assert that the station’s rejection was the result of racial bias, citing the hostility the singer endured during her 2016 Country Music Awards performance.

It appears that the post generated enough buzz for KYKC to take notice of Beyoncé’s new releases. Soon after the backlash, the official account of the radio station X posted a clarification that her song Texas Hold ‘Em had been added to their list.

Fans welcomed the change, with many calling it a victory for the Beyhive. Here are some general reactions after the country music station decided to play Beyoncé on public demand:

Fans are excited for the new album to drop next month, and the singer is expected to give more details about the songs soon. The Beyhive will have to settle for the two country songs that were released last weekend, though, until then.