Beyoncé became the first black female singer to top Billboard

Beyoncé Knowles’ single Texas Hold ‘Em took the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Country Chart immediately after its release.

Beyoncé Knowles’ single Texas Hold ’Em took the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Country Chart shortly after its release during the Super Bowl. And she became the first black artist to achieve this position in the history of the Billboard Charts.

Another Beyoncé single called 16 Carriages, released simultaneously with Texas Hold ’Em last February 11, debuted at number 9 in the Billboard Country Charts. Texas Hold ’Em takes the No. 2 spot with 19 million downloads, while 16 Carriages is at No. 38 with 10.3 million downloads on Billboard’s list of the 100 most popular songs.

Historically, it has been difficult for black artists to gain recognition in the country music genre, a field often dominated by white male singers. But the unexpected success of Beyoncé’s country singles came at a time when women of color were starting to receive acclaim in the industry.

At last year’s Country Music Awards, Tracy Chapman won Song of the Year for Fast Car, which topped the country music charts three decades after its release thanks to a cover by Luke Combs. In recent years, many famous black female country music artists have appeared, such as Mickey Guyton and Brittney Spencer.

According to information from Billboard, Beyoncé is the first woman to top both the Hot Country Songs chart and the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart since these awards were established in 1958. Both records Beyoncé’s singles are from her upcoming album, the follow-up to her country-themed album Renaissance, which she refers to as Act II. The full album is expected to be released on March 29.