Country Radio Station Refuses to Play Beyonce's Song

An Oklahoma radio station being called racist for not playing Beyonce's new country songs is part of a big misunderstanding, the station told Newsweek.

Broadcasting South Central Oklahoma Radio (S.C.O.R.E.) Enterprises, based in Ada, Oklahoma, consists of five stations including the country-centric FM station 100.1 KYKC.

They were bombarded with calls, emails and texts on Tuesday after social media users on X, formerly Twitter, claimed the station was "racist" for not playing two new songs from the music superstar's newest country album: "Texas Hold 'Em" and "16 Carriages."

X users posted emails they received from the station after requesting Beyonce's newest tracks, one to which a S.C.O.R.E. employee replied: "Hi, we do not play Beyonce on KYKC as we are a country music station. Thank you."

Another email from the station, in response to complaints, stated that Beyonce's songs will be played on country radio when they chart higher.

Craig Stone, a disc jockey at the station, told Newsweek via phone on Tuesday afternoon that the emails in question were sent to a manager at the station who was unaware that Beyonce had released country music.

He chalked it up to miscommunication and nothing done intentionally to alienate any music fans.

"[The manager] was just completely unaware that [playing Beyonce on country radio] would be an option," Stone said.

While KYKC has not yet played the two aforementioned songs, it plans to add them to the rotation. Stone said that their Top 40 station has already played the songs a few times and will continue to do so over time.

"[The social media attacks] launched so fast and caught us off guard," Stone said. "We just haven't added it [to KYKC] because it's quite new.

"It's not that we have something against the songs or anything against Beyonce. We're kind of shocked of how everything broke out here a couple hours ago."

Beyonce's foray into country music gained steam internationally after she was featured in a Verizon commercial during Sunday's Super Bowl, which included a mention of her newest artistic venture assisted by an Instagram post confirming the rumors of her shift in direction.

The commercial included a taxi seen driving into Texas, with Beyonce singing over music: "This ain't Texas, ain't no hold 'em / So lay your cards down, down, down, down."

The new album Renaissance: Act II will be released on March 29 and is a follow-up to her 2022 studio album Renaissance. Last July, she teased a three-album special project—with the first act being a house-music tribute, and now a country album is on tap. Some have speculated if the final album of the trio will be a rock tribute.

"#BeyHive! Let's kindly educate Oklahoma country radio station 1001 KYKC that Beyoncé's upcoming project and already released singles are indeed country music!" one X user said.

Another user wrote: "This station needs to be held accountable for their blatant racism and discrimination against Beyoncé. This is absolutely ridiculous and racist. You guys should be ashamed. I grew up listening to your station."

That same user encouraged others on social media to email the station to get the songs more airtime.