Miranda Lambert spoke candidly about the role of women in country music in a recent interview with The Washington Post and brought up hitting No. 1 on Billboard‘s Country Airplay chart in August thanks to her feature on Jason Aldean‘s “Drowns the Whiskey.”
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“Yes, I had to sing with someone with a penis to get a No. 1,” Lambert candidly said of the chart-topping song.
Despite being a decorated country singer with two Grammys and 13 Country Music Association Awards, Lambert hasn’t had a solo No. 1 on the Country Airplay chart since 2012’s “Over You” and shared the top spot with Keith Urban on their duet “We Were Us.”
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“It is interesting that I haven’t even had a top 20 in a long, long time,” Lambert said. “And then it goes No. 1 because it’s a dude.” She was quick to add that she has nothing against Aldean, who she likes “a lot” and was happy to work with on the song.
Instead, Lambert drew attention to the larger issue of unequal representation that women in country music face. Country stars like Carrie Underwood have also previously spoken out about the genre’s reinforced sexism. The Washington Post even referenced a report that in 2017 that only 10.4 percent of songs on the country radio charts were from female artists — a decrease from 13 percent the year before.
Lambert will perform “Drowns the Whiskey” alongside Aldean on Wednesday night (Nov. 14) at the CMA Awards. Lambert is also nominated for three CMAs, two of which are for “Drowns the Whiskey.”