Beyoncé gets queen of country Dolly Parton’s seal of approval

Dolly Parton has congratulated Beyoncé after she became the first Black woman to achieve a No 1 hit on the Billboard Hot Country songs chart.

The Lemonade artist, 42, surprise released two country songs during the Super Bowl, “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages”, as well as announcing the forthcoming release of her debut country album, Renaissance II.

“Texas Hold ‘Em” has been doing particularly well, despite country music radio stations resisting requests from fans to play the song on air.

The Queen of Country herself has now weighed in, not long after she did some genre-hopping of her own, for her recent album Rockstar.

“I’m a big fan of Beyoncé and very excited that she’s done a country album,” Parton, 78, wrote in a message shared to Instagram.

“So congratulations on your Billboard Hot Country No 1 single. Can’t wait to hear the full album! Love, Dolly.”

Fans were delighted at this public display of support from one of the most respected and successful artists in country music, with many declaring that this must be the final word on the matter.

“The Queen has spoken,” one fan commented on Parton’s post. “Can we support Bey already? Country is for everyone! Crossovers are a thing. Dolly has crossed over until there haven’t been any more overs to cross to and we have been there all the way.”

“Legends supporting legends,” another said, while one fan wrote: “If you are disagreeing with... checks notes, Dolly Parton, on what is country... maybe be more like Dolly.”

The success of “Texas Hold ‘Em” comes after a row erupted last week over the song’s status as a country music song, reviving a decades-long debate over the country music industry’s lack of support for Black artists.

KYKC country radio station in Oklahoma initially refused to play the song, issuing a curt reply to a fan that “we “do not play Beyoncé on KYKC as we are a country music station”.

After being met with accusations of racism, the station backtracked and claimed it had not been aware that Beyoncé had released two country songs.

Its Facebook account said the station “didn’t physically have it [the songs]. Now we do. Love it”.

“We initially refused to play it in the same manner if someone requested us to play The Rolling Stones on our country station,” KYKC’s general manager Roger Harris said.

Beyoncé grew up in Houston, Texas, one of the heartlands of country music. She previously dabbled in the genre on “Daddy Lessons”, from her 2016 album Lemonade, and duetted the song (despite objections from conservative country fans) with The Chicks at the 50th annual Country Music Association Awards.

In January, Parton was honoured with a series of concerts in Nashville to celebrate her 78th birthday.

She released her latest album, Rockstar, last year, which featured a number of collaborations with her fellow music legends, including Sir Paul McCartney, Elton John and Debbie Harry.

In an interview with The Independent, Parton admitted she had her doubts about venturing into rock music but felt it “turned out really well”.

“I wanted it to be good, because I wanted rock artists to hear it and say, ‘Well, you know, that ain’t bad!’” she explained.

“I thought it turned out really well. I’m proud of it!”