Beyoncé has achieved her first chart-topping hit in the UK in 14 years with her latest country single, “Texas Hold ‘Em”.
The track, which showcases Beyoncé gracefully dancing through the challenges of life while holding a glass of whiskey, has risen from No 9 to No 1 in its second week of being released. This is the first country song to top the UK charts since Lil Nas X’s Old Town Road in 2019. Beyoncé’s previous No 1 was in 2010 with her duet Telephone with Lady Gaga, and her last solo No 1 was If I Were a Boy in 2008.
Despite maintaining a significant and widely-discussed presence, this individual’s financial influence decreased somewhat in the United Kingdom over time. Her works, including 4, Beyoncé, Lemonade, and The Lion King: The Gift, only yielded two Top 10 hits combined. However, the UK, known for its love of dance music, embraced her venture into house music with her 2022 album Renaissance. Both singles, Break My Soul and Cuff It, reached the Top Five in the UK.
The card game Texas Hold ‘Em, set to be featured on the second installment of the Renaissance album series, is gaining widespread popularity worldwide. It currently ranks second on Spotify’s global Top 50 chart, behind only Benson Boone’s Beautiful Things, and on the US Hot 100 chart, it ranks below Jack Harlow’s Lovin On Me.
Currently, it holds the top spot on the US country chart, marking the first time a Black woman has accomplished this.
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 her children have incorporated this culture into their fashion and art from a young age, as they attended rodeos every year and the family often dressed in western attire. So when people question why Beyoncé wears cowboy hats, it is because it has been a part of her life since childhood.
In other parts of the chart, Boone’s popular and inspiring song climbs to the second spot in the UK this week, while Dua Lipa’s newest release Training Season debuts at No 4. 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 a whopping 89 spots to No 11.
Idles, a punk band from Bristol, has reached the No. 1 spot on the album chart with their album “Tangk”. This is their second time topping the chart, following their 2020 album “Ultra Mono”. Paloma Faith’s album “The Glorification of Sadness” has also earned a spot in the Top 10, reaching No. 2. Liverpool’s rock band Crawlers made their debut on the chart at No. 7 with their album “The Mess We Seem to Make”. In addition, Bob Marley’s compilation album “Legend” has made a comeback in the Top 10 after the release of the biopic “Bob Marley: One Love”. This marks the album’s 1,122nd week on the chart, despite being non-consecutive.
Source: theguardian.com
