THE CLONE STAR STATE
From country music to cowboy fashion, why celebs from Beyonce to Miley Cyrus are going mad for Texas
Even the big bouffant hairdo from an iconic TV show is now making a comeback
IT’S a well-known fact that wherever Beyonce goes, the rest of the world is sure to follow.
The global superstar has shown she is the queen of reinvention after announcing she is set to release her debut country album, Act II: Cowboy Carter, at the end of this month.
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Bey, 42, recently became the first black woman to top Billboard’s country music chart in the US after her new tune, Texas Hold ’Em, made its debut at No1.
She also scored her sixth chart-topping single in the UK with the track.
But it may not have come as a surprise to die-hard fans.
The singer wore a giant cowboy hat to the Grammys and is, after all, from Houston, Texas, herself.
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And now the Lone Star State is set to become our saviour after joining Britain in a major post-Brexit trade agreement.
UK Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch welcomed Texas Governor Greg Abbott in Westminster to sign the Statement of Mutual Cooperation, hailing it a “landmark.”
This will be the UK’s eighth deal with an individual US state.
The pact will address regulatory barriers to trade between Britain and Texas, helping to boost investment and commerce between the two economies and making it easier for companies to do business.
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It comes as the UK Government tries to forge state-level deals due to the absence of a wider free trade agreement with America.
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‘Everything’s super-sized’
Texas — home of the cowboy — is the eighth largest economy in the world, and has a GDP of £1.9trillion, meaning it is worth more than Canada, Russia and Australia.
And the state which brought us 1980s telly smash Dallas is revelling in its current glory.
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But Beyonce is not the only celeb hoedowning over it.
We have also had Bella Hadid cheering on new boyfriend Adan Banuelos at the rodeo, Kylie Jenner’s Texas obsession and Miley Cyrus’ big and bouncy "Texas hair” — the hot new style.
Country music is having a real moment thanks to Beyonce, with many other artists saddling up to follow a similar career path.
Indie pop star Lana Del Rey, who is releasing a country album called Lasso in September, has declared: “The music business is going country.”
And former One Direction star Zayn Malik may be hoping the toe-tapping genre will provide him with a huge comeback hit.
He looks set to release a new country-inspired solo album in May, working alongside Grammy award-winning, Nashville-based producer Dave Cobb on his new record.
Country singer turned pop megastar Taylor Swift, 34, has also helped to drive Western fashion, with fans honouring her by wearing cowboy boots to her Eras tour concerts.
Famous for its legendary cowboy culture, everything in Texas is super-sized — even the hairdos.
Dubbed “The Texan blowout” by one top stylist, the trend has been sported by a string of celebs.
Appearing to take inspiration from her godmother and country icon Dolly Parton, Miley, 31, debuted her own bouffant at the Grammys.
Beyonce also went XXL with platinum blonde curls at the Super Bowl, with her stylist Neal Farinah calling it “Super Bowl Texan hair”.
Explaining why the “big is better” do — which hasn’t been in fashion since the days of Sue Ellen on Dallas — is once again bang on trend, art director at London-based Neville Hair and Beauty, Jason Crozier, said: “The Texan hair blowout serves as a refreshing counter-narrative to the minimalist aesthetic.
“It’s a visual feast, a celebration of excess in the best possible way, reminding us of the joy and empowerment that can come from full self-expression.”
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Supermodel Bella Hadid is another star embracing the cowgirl aesthetic thanks to her blossoming romance with Adan Banuelos, 34, a professional equestrian and trainer.
According to his website, he has “amassed over five million dollars in earnings aboard a horse”.
Earlier this month, Bella, 27, was snapped in a black Stetson smiling as she supported him at the American Performance Horseman, an annual rodeo in the Texan city of Arlington.
Bella, an experienced horseback rider herself, was first spotted getting cosy with the cowboy in October last year when they were seen kissing at the historic Fort Worth Stockyards, which is one of the most popular attractions in Texas.
While visiting, she has been competing in equestrian competitions, sparking rumours she could be considering a career as a cowgirl.
Reality TV star Kylie Jenner lives in Los Angeles, California, close to her Kardashian sisters — but she’s been a regular visitor to Texas with her now ex-boyfriend, rapper Travis Scott, 32, who is originally from Houston.
The couple, who share kids Stormi, six, and two-year-old Aire, often returned to his hometown, including taking Stormi to the Houston Zoo on a VIP tour when she was three, leading to the venue closing the carousel twice.
The pair split up in January last year, but it seems Kylie, 26, who has reportedly been dating actor Timothee Chalamet, always held the Lone Star State close to her heart.
Asked by Vogue magazine in 2021 where she would like to live if she could choose any other city in the country, she said Houston — suggesting a California exodus could be on the cards.
Texas’ population grew by nearly 1.6million between 2020 and 2023, helping to boost its economy.
And as State taxes, crime and the general cost of living continues to rise in California, it has become the new home for many big businesses, turning cities such as Austin and San Antonio into tech powerhouses.
Two years ago, Elon Musk opened a Tesla gigafactory the size of 138 football pitches just outside Austin, declaring a year earlier that the capital city is going “to be the biggest boomtown America has seen in 50 years”.
‘Privacy draws celebs’
Hollywood’s Matthew McConaughey relocated back to his home state of Texas in 2022 after years of living in LA.
Born in Uvalde, he now lives in Austin with his wife, Brazilian model and designer Camila Alves, 41, and their three children, Levi, 15, Vida, 14, and Livingston, 11, in a 10,800sq ft Spanish-Mediterranean-style mansion.
The 54-year-old Oscar winner said of Austin: “I’ve been just waiting for the secret to get out. I’m excited for the growth. We’re not going back.
“We don’t have a landmark like Niagara Falls or Disney World or the Eiffel Tower.
“They’re all coming for the vibe — we’ve got people.”
One of the biggest draws for big-name celebrities seems to be the privacy that Texas offers.
Speaking about the move, Camila, 41, said in a recent interview: “We lived in Malibu for many years, having the paparazzi outside our door every day — every single day.
“When that becomes your normal, you don’t realise how much that’s actually affecting the things you do until you leave and get out of it.”
She added: “The kids get to have a private way of growing up. So, from that perspective, it was very important.”
Academy Award-winning actress Emma Stone also moved to Austin with her husband, former Saturday Night Live writer and director Dave McCary, in 2022.
Their £6million mansion recently went viral on TikTok after aerial views of the 5,000sq ft property appeared online following her recent best actress win at the Oscars for Poor Things.
And earlier this year, Emma, 35, put her Spanish-style LA home up for sale, suggesting a permanent move could be on the cards.
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While the UK will never be a match for Texas, if anything comes from this new agreement it should be this . . .
That we import a little of its yee-haw and its get up and go.
TEN BIG TEXAN FACTS
- TEXAS Independence Day is celebrated annually on March 2 to celebrate independence from Mexico in 1836.
- Texas’s nickname, The Lone Star State, pays tribute to the Lone Star flag, which was adopted after Texas broke away from its southern neighbour.
- The red, white and blue colours of the state flag are legally required to exactly match the colours of the United States flag.
- The state of Texas is larger than any European country.
- It is the live-music capital of the world. The city of Austin has more live-music venues per capita than anywhere else in the US.
- Chili con carne has been the official state dish of Texas since 1977, although there is an ongoing debate about whether it can have beans in it.
- The frozen margarita was invented in Dallas by Mariano Martinez in 1971 after he converted a soft-serve ice-cream machine.
- Texas is home to more than a million horses, accounting for nearly 15 per cent of all horses in the US.
- It is illegal to milk another person’s cow in Texas because it violates the state’s penal code. It is considered theft of personal property – but the fine is no more than £8.
- Texan superstition rules that you should not put your cowboy hat on a bed as it can bring on bad luck, injury or even death.