Miranda Lambert, Carrie Underwood 'should get a ribbon' for surviving country music in male-dominated era

Miranda Lambert believes she deserves more recognition for her fight to be included in country music.

"The House That Built Me" singer reflected on the changes in her industry since dominating charts as one of only a few prominent women in the genre.

"Early 2000s, that was kind of the thing," Lambert explained on a "Popcast" episode. "It's like, dress sexy, be sexy, be a pretty girl. And I was like, 'I'm a gun-totin' redneck,' do you know what I mean? And I wanted to make sure that it didn't get lost in translation."

After Lambert, 42, rose through the ranks in the male-dominated country music scene, she recognized that her fellow female artist was somewhat by her side through the fight.

"And then, in like 2010 era, it was like, there were no females at all," Lambert said. "Carrie Underwood and I made it through pretty much a solid at least seven years of only guy artists coming out of country music."

"It's like, 'Wow, this is really off kilter a little bit," you know what I mean," she said. "And now, I feel like it is really balanced. I really do, and I think a lot of that has to do with the way music is consumed and there's finally room for every damn body."

Lambert added, "I feel like we should get a ribbon for surviving that. Like, that was a hard time, honestly."

Advertisement

The "Mama's Broken Heart" singer revealed that she only recently was able to attend one of Underwood's shows, and the "American Idol" winner-turned-judge reciprocated with her own ticket to a Lambert concert.

"Carrie and I went to each other's residencies in Vegas, and it was a really cool bonding moment because, first of all, her show is incredible, and we had never seen each other," she said. "You know why? There were only two girls for so long. We weren't playing the same shows ever."

She added, "It's gotten so much better, and I'm so thankful that, like, that there's, you know, room for a crowd now. Everybody has something different.

"I feel like all the voices can be heard, all the messages can be heard. You don't have to love them all, but at least there's a way to hear them."