Beyoncé. Julian Dakdouk/Parkwood Media/WireImage via Parkwood
In the wake of TikTok chatter that Beyoncé’s new song “Texas Hold ‘Em” sounds eerily similar to an iconic children’s series theme song, the show’s composer has weighed in on the matter.
Bruce Cockburn, who wrote the theme song for beloved Canadian animated series Franklin, has spoken out after a wave of videos compared Beyoncé’s new No. 1 single to his kids’ creation.
“I think Beyoncé’s ‘Texas Hold ’Em’ is a good record,” Cockburn told People in an interview published Wednesday, February 28. “Unfortunately I can’t claim to have had any part in writing it.”
Still, Cockburn wasn’t totally immune to hearing where people were coming from.
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“The rhythmic feel is similar to my theme song for the Franklin TV series,” he admitted, “but to my ears that’s where the similarity stops. ‘Texas Hold ’Em’ is her song, and I wish her success with it!”
So far, so good for Beyoncé, as the country-inspired track climbed to top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 on Monday, February 26, in the song’s second week on the chart.
The song’s success can be attributed largely to viral dances and interpretations on TikTok, which is where the Franklin comparisons picked up steam.
“Someone said new Beyoncé sounded like the Franklin theme song,” popular TikToker Taylor Roche wrote, “so I went aight bet & made this.”
The video, which overlays both songs to show their similarities, has been viewed more than 500,000 times.
Another TikTok user posted a video of herself listening to “Texas Hold ‘Em” captioned, “Pov: you’re a Canadian trying to figure out why Beyoncé’s new song sounds so familiar.”
After figuring things out, she then posted a picture of Franklin the turtle, writing, “realizing that it was literally the sound of your childhood.” (Franklin aired for six seasons from 1997 to 2004.)
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Beyoncé surprise-released both “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages” on Super Bowl Sunday after a Verizon commercial featuring her hinted that she was announcing new music. Both tracks will be featured on her upcoming country album Act II, set to be released on March 29.
In addition to Beyoncé claiming No. 1 on the Hot 100 — her 13th overall No. 1 hit if you combine her solo work and the Destiny’s Child discography — she also became the first Black woman in history to top the Billboard Country Songs chart, dethroning Zach Bryan and Kacey Musgraves’ “I Remember Everything.”
Additionally, Beyoncé joined Taylor Swift as one of the only two solo female artists to debut at No. 1 on the Country Songs chart after Swift did it twice in 2021 with “Love Story (Taylor’s Version)” and “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version).”