Beyoncé’s new single “Texas Hold ‘Em” is crushing it on several Billboard charts this week.
The country song opens at No. 1 on the Hot Country Songs chart, which is ranked by streaming activity data, radio airplay impressions and sales data.
According to Billboard, “Texas Hold ‘Em” amassed 19.2 million streams, garnered 4.8 million airplay impressions across all formats and sold 39,000 copies in the U.S. in its first week.
She makes history as the first Black woman to have a No. 1 hit on the Hot Country Songs chart. She also joins Taylor Swift as the only woman to debut at No. 1 on the chart with no feature, Billboard reports.
On the Country Digital Song Sales and all-genre Digital Song Sales charts, “Texas Hold ‘Em” bows at No. 1. It’s Bey’s first chart-topper on the Country Digital Song Sales chart and her 11th on the latter chart.
Elsewhere on Billboard, “Texas Hold ‘Em” debuts at No. 2 on the Hot 100, marking Beyoncé’s highest debut on the popular singles chart.
Joining “Texas Hold ‘Em” on Billboard is the B-side (or Bey-side) “16 Carriages.” On the Hot Country Songs chart, it opens at No. 9 and No. 36 on the Hot 100. It generated 10.3 million streams, 90,000 in radio audience impressions and sold 14,000 copies.
It’s worth noting “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages” only had four days of tracking, as opposed to the typical seven days.
Both songs were released Sunday, Feb. 11, following Beyoncé’s Super Bowl ad for Verizon. The commercial hinted that new tunes were on the way. “Okay, they ready. Drop the new music,” Beyoncé said at the end.
The two tracks will appear on Beyoncé’s upcoming album, Act II, out March 29 via Parkwood Entertainment/Columbia Records. It will mark the follow-up to 2022’s Act I: Renaissance.
“Texas Hold ‘Em” was co-produced by Beyoncé, Killah B and Nathan Ferraro. It includes instrumentation by Rhiannon Giddens on banjo and viola; Raphael Saadiq on drums, organ, piano and bass; Khirye Tyler on piano and bass; Lowell Boland on piano; Killah B on drums; and Ferraro on bass and piano.
As for “16 Carriages,” the introspective tune was co-produced by Beyoncé, Atia “INK” Boggs and Dave Hamelin.
Circling back to Act II, the highly anticipated album is the second installment of a previously teased trilogy. “This three act project was recorded over three years during the pandemic,” Beyoncé wrote in an open letter to her fans on the day Renaissance released. “A time to be still, but also a time I found to be the most creative.”
Renaissance debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart with 332,000 equivalent units sold in the first week. It won Best Dance/Electronic Music Album at the 65th Grammy Awards in 2023. Beyoncé made history as the first Black woman to win a Grammy in that category.
In other news, today (Feb. 20), Beyoncé launched her haircare brand Cécred. “I have many beautiful memories attached to my hair. The relationship we have with our hair is such a deeply personal journey,” Beyoncé told Essence in her cover story.
“I took the end of my name, Cé, and made it the beginning of the word sacred to create Cécred. From my mother’s salon, daily rituals with my father, and years of experience in developing a hair care line, the journey has been just that: Cécred.”
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