Poker received a mainstream reputation during the biggest promotional day of the year Beyonce unveiled and released “Texas Hold ‘Em,” a new track that will undoubtedly get some of the pop queen’s tens of millions of listeners talking about the card game of the same name.
Beyoncé, one of the most popular and well-known musicians in the world, teased the new poker-themed single during a Verizon commercial that aired during the first-ever Super Bowl in Las Vegas, where the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers in overtime in a game for eternity.
Shortly after Beyoncé announced the song and another titled “16 carriages,” she released both tracks on Tidal before they made their way to other platforms like Spotify and YouTube.
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Poker references in new Beyoncé single
As you might expect from someone who releases a song titled “Texas Hold ‘Em,” Beyoncé made some poker references and innuendos when releasing the tracks.
A one-minute video posted to Beyoncé Instagram shows a taxi driving down a dusty road with a Texas cosmetic sign reading “HOLD ‘EM.” Meanwhile, the cover of the single features Beyoncé with a metallic heart, no doubt a reference to one of the four suits in a deck of cards.
Beyoncé further alludes to poker in the chorus lyrics of the new track: “This ain’t Texas, ain’t no hold ’em. So put your cards down, put your cards down.”
Beyoncé isn’t the first music star to draw inspiration from poker – Lady Gaga’s 2008 hit “Poker Face” has more than 1.2 billion views on YouTube alone – but she is one of the biggest. The Destiny’s Child alum is the 50th most listened to artist in the world on Spotify and is widely considered one of the queens of pop and R&B music.
Beyoncé also announced a new album: Act IIa follow-up to their 2022 album Renaissancewhich will be released on March 29th.
Beyoncé is known to be married to another star musician Jay Zwho is known as a big poker enthusiast.
Learn how to play Texas Hold’em!
*Main photo courtesy of Parkwood Entertainment
