(New York) Even before the release of her new album which promises to explore country, Beyoncé this week became the first black singer to rank a single at the top of the charts in this musical genre, writing a new page in the history of American music.
Released on February 11, in the middle of the Super Bowl, the title Texas Hold’Ema rhythmic song with the sound of the banjo, reached number one on the magazine’s Hot Country Songs chart Billboardwhile his other single 16 Carriages settled at 9e place.
“Before the triumph of Texas Hold’Emno black woman, nor mixed race woman, had reached” this peak, wrote the site Billboard.
While country is a musical style that draws on the African-American roots of the United States, notably the banjo, used by African slaves deported to the continent, black artists have historically been kept apart.
In 2019, one of the songs of the year, Old Town Road by rapper Lil Nas Billboardofficially because it did not include enough elements of this style, an exclusion which caused controversy.
In recent years, black artists have still managed to break into country, like Mickey Guyton and Brittney Spencer. A sign of this late recognition, the famous folk and country song written by Tracy Chapman and released in 1988, Fast Carreceived the 2023 Best Song award at the Country Music Awards, but that was after singer Luke Combs gave it a second life with his cover.
Beyoncé’s new album, Act II, is due out March 29. Promised as a country album, it is the second chapter of a trilogy that began with Renaissance in 2022, a record with much more dance and house accents.
Act II will be the 8the album by the Texas native singer. She is the most successful in the history of the Grammy Awards, the American music industry awards, with 32 gramophones.