Shell shocked by Beyoncé
Beyoncé's track Texas Hold 'Em is a chart-topper, but some fans say it bears similarities to the theme song of the Canadian animated series Franklin.
“Millennials trying to figure out why this sounds so familiar,” one Tiktok user wrote over a video that played Texas Hold 'Em while scenes from the cartoon flashed in the background.
In another viral clip, a Tiktok user played both songs, captioning the post, “People keep telling me this Beyoncé song sounds similar to this.”
Another Tiktok user posted a video of herself listening to Beyonce's song. “POV: you're a Canadian trying to figure out why Beyoncé's new song sounds so familiar,” she wrote.
Bruce Cockburn, who wrote the theme to Franklin — titled Hey, It's Franklin — weighed in on the comparison, saying he's a fan of Beyoncé's track.
“I think Beyonce's Texas Hold 'Em is a good record. Unfortunately I can't claim to have had any part in writing it,” Cockburn told People.
But the Juno winner acknowledged there were some similarities.
“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!”
But as Tiktok comparisons spread, users were split on whether Beyoncé actually copied the cartoon.
“I mean, Beyoncé's song is a little pepper, with more instruments. Franklin's theme song is slower ... like a turtle,” one person wrote, “This is called REACHING.”
Several others said Texas Hold 'Em sounded more like Kenny Rogers's 1978 song The Gambler.
One person suggested the Franklin theme may have slipped in unconsciously because one of the song's writers is Canadian. “The wild thing is that some of the songwriters are Canadian and may have grown up watching Franklin!”
Based on the popular Franklin the Turtle books written by Brenda Clark and Paulette Bourgeois, Franklin aired from 1997 to 2004 and featured Schitt's Creek star Noah Reid as the voice of the titular character.
Meanwhile, with the release of Texas Hold 'Em earlier this month, Beyoncé became the first Black woman to top Billboard's country music chart. Her other single, 16 Carriages, debuted at No. 9.
Both songs feature on the Grammy winner's upcoming country-themed album act ii, which is her followup to 2022's Renaissance.