The Millennial urge to trace everything back to their childhood strikes again.
This time it’s the country’s No. 1 song (and the country’s No. 1 country song) “Texas Hold ‘Em” by Beyoncé and its alleged similarities to the theme song from the Canadian kids cartoon Franklin.
Users on TikTok noted the similarities in a series of videos, with the composer of the TV theme song also weighing in.
getty; everett collection
“I think Beyoncé’s ‘Texas Hold ’Em’ is a good record. Unfortunately I can’t claim to have had any part in writing it,” Bruce Cockburn told PEOPLE. “The rhythmic feel is similar to my theme song for the Franklin TV series, but to my ears that’s where the similarity stops. ‘Texas Hold ’Em’ is her song, and I wish her success with it!”
Franklin ran from 1997 to 2004 and followed the adventures of a young turtle in the small village of Woodland, based on the popular Franklin the Turtle books by Brenda Clark and Paulette Bourgeois. In contrast, “Texas Hold ‘Em” is about laying your cards down, down, down, down and not being a bitch and taking it to the floor now (Woo!).
In the biggest flex of the year (so far), Bey surprise dropped the single, along with “16 Carriages” during the Super Bowl, after her (also surprise) Verizon commercial aired. “Texas Hold ‘Em” went on to become the first song by a Black woman to top Billboard’s country charts and hit No. 1 on the Hot 100 just this week.
The songs are part of Act II, the second stage of Beyoncé’s Renaissance, which started with her disco house album in 2022. The album is slated for release on March 29.
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