"TEXAS HOLD 'EM" landed at number one on our platform this year, a country music single at the top of the workout music charts. It worked in spin classes, strength blocks, even line dancing sessions. Genre tags said country. Users said keep playing it.

Eric "Stens" Stensvaag, Feed.fm's Director of Curation, broke down why it worked: "It's poppy enough for non-country fans, country enough for non-pop fans, and quintessential Beyoncé. The 110 BPM, four-on-the-floor beat dead-centers the preferred tempo of most fitness soundtracks.” It’s clear that “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM” will be added to the list of best Beyonce workout songs, and to any serious country music workout playlist.

The song rode momentum from Beyoncé's 2025 Grammy Album of the Year win while crossing genres in a way that resonated with both pop and country audiences. It's a case study in what happens when an artist ignores genre boundaries and focuses on energy instead.

This tracks with how fitness itself has evolved. Classes blend formats now. Strength with cardio, HIIT with mobility, bootcamp with breathwork. The music has to move with that. A cycling sprint might pull from electro, a cooldown from acoustic pop, a strength block from Beyoncé's country era. Look at the rest of our top 10: Dasha's "Austin" (country-pop), Chappell Roan's indie-pop breakthrough, Kehlani's R&B. Genre tags matter less than they used to. Listeners follow energy and feeling, and they're pulling from everywhere. The best country music workout songs in 2025 didn't sound like traditional country at all.

The better approach is programming for the moment. What does this class need to feel like? The tracks in this year's top 10 suggest users are already there. As Pop/Country, Pop/Hip-Hop, and Pop/R&B hybrids now equal pure pop tracks, "Contemporary Radio Hits" better captures what the Pop genre has become. Programming that flows with these genre crossovers tends to outperform programming that sticks to rigid boundaries.

What to watch in 2026

Country keeps crossing over. Stens noted that "country artists like Morgan Wallen are dominating pop charts, while savvy non-country artists are borrowing from country's DNA." The lines aren't coming back. Expect more crossover hits that defy easy categorization and work across multiple class formats.

The full report

The 2025 End of Year Report covers the songs, artists, and trends that defined fitness music this year, plus 2026 predictions from the curators who called Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan's rise early.

Inside you'll find:

• Top 10 tracks and artists with play counts
• Instructor request data revealing what pros actually program
• Analysis of the nostalgia economy, R&B's crossover, and genre convergence
• 2026 predictions from curators who called Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan's rise
• Customer success metrics and the business case for music strategy

Want the full picture?

Our 2025 Year in Music report breaks down the songs, artists, and trends that defined fitness this year, plus predictions for 2026 from our curation team.