Detroiters welcome Beyoncé to country radio
(CBS DETROIT) - Beyoncé's new song "Texas Hold 'Em" is finding its place on country radio. This as she becomes the first Black female artist to have a Billboard No. 1 country song.
"Anytime a new song comes out, I don't care who the artist is. Not every station jumps on it immediately. Some are more conservative and just want to see what happens," said Tim Roberts, the vice president of programming for WYCD, Detroit's country music station.
Roberts said they've been playing the song since Beyonce released it just over a week ago.
"It got off to a huge start on the sales side and went to number one on Billboard, which is amazing. But it shows the popularity of Beyonce just as an artist and universally worldwide. The question is are they country consumers, are they pop consumers, and time will tell."
Beyonce has made history as the first Black female artist to have a Billboard No. 1 country song.
"I think it's the boost country music needs," said Heath Craig, the owner of Solo Records.
Craig said it's clear that Beyonce is exposing more people to country music as a whole.
"People who are straightforward pop or R&B fans are now buying Johnny Cash and Marty Robbins records."
Roberts said artists of all genres like making country music because it's lyric-based and stripped down. He said you can't fake country music.
"They want to be seen as real musicians. I think it's an interesting format to dabble into. I mean, we've had artists like the Rolling Stones that cut a country record years ago, and Steven Tyler tried it. So, there's a lot of people who are just putting their toe in the water and are just checking it out because it's interesting to them as creative forces. And we embrace that, we love it."