Dolly Parton praises Beyoncé for No.1 spot on country music chart
Beyoncé's new country music singles have taken the internet by storm, and now legendary country singer Dolly Parton is welcoming Queen Bey into the space with open arms.
Parton made her sentiments clear in an Instagram post on Thursday.
"I'm a big fan of Beyoncé and very excited that she's done a country album," she wrote. "So congratulations on your Billboard Hot Country number one single."
As fans know, Beyoncé surprised the world when she released two country singles, "Texas Hold 'Em" and "16 Carriages," and announced a full "Act II" album following a Super Bowl commercial on Feb. 11.
Parton has been known to cross genres herself. The rock album she released last year topped six different Billboard charts in its first week.
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Parton isn't the only country star to sing Beyoncé's praises. The songs have been embraced amongst fans and other country music artists, including Lainey Wilson.
Within a week, "Texas Hold 'Em" debuted at No. 54 on Billboard's Country Airplay chart. Both songs began topping country music playlists and charts on Apple Music and Spotify almost instantly. On YouTube, she reached over 2 million views on each song in two days.
This week, Queen Bey made history as the first Black woman to top Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart when "Texas Hold 'Em" hit No. 1. Her single single "16 Carriages" also hit No. 9 on the chart based on streaming, airplay and sales.
Beyoncé continues to break barriers in this landscape, despite country music's troubled past when it comes to inclusion.
Follow Caché McClay, the USA TODAY Network's Beyoncé Knowles-Carter reporter, on Instagram, TikTok and X as @cachemcclay.
