Remember When Maddie & Tae Called Out Bro-Country With Their Debut Single “Girl In A Country Song”

When you think of diss tracks, some legendary ones come to mind.

There was Eminem’s beef with Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon back in 2009, and then of course the Drake and Meek Mill war of 2015 with songs like “Back to Back” and “Wanna Know.”

Diss tracks have existed since the ‘80s, primarily in rap and hip-hop, but nearly all of them have involved one artist going at it with another.

However, what if I told you two 20 year old blonde-haired girls took a stand against an entire genre that was being suffocated by the horror that is “bro country.” From the span of about 2009-2016 (and there are still some songs that linger today), mainstream country music was overtaken by the shallow songwriting of buzzword country songs that all appeared to have the same meaning: meet a girl wearing Daisy Duke’s at the bar or bonfire and get her in your lifted truck

And right at the peak of this plague, female country duo Maddie & Tae released the ultimate diss track to “bro country” music with their 2014 hit, “Girl In A Country Song.”

In the song, Maddie & Tae torch the “bro country” era by listing every single stereotype that had been used towards girls in the genre up to that point in time, with a chorus that cuts straight to the point they’re trying to make:

“Being a girl in a country song, how in the world did it go so wrong? Like all we’re good for, is looking good for you and your friends on the weekend, nothing more. We used to get a little respect, now we’re lucky if we even get, to climb up in your truck, keep our mouth shut and ride along, and be the girl in a country song.”

The song received a ton of praise, reaching as high as number three on the Hot Country Songs chart in 2015 and topped the Country Airplay Chart. Maddie & Tae were also the first female duo to to top the charts since 2006.

They not only took a stand against “bro country,” but the song also seemed to coincide with a resurgence of women on country radio. Back in the early 2010s, the number of women playing on country music radio was scarce, and right around the time “Girl In A Country Song” was released, new female country artists like Kelsea Ballerini, Lindsay Ell, Maren Morris, Lauren Alaina, and several others started to see much more success on country radio.

Perhaps the wildest thing is that “Girl In A Country Song” was Maddie & Tae’s FIRST hit song. I mean that’s an insanely bold song for a young group that’s trying to make a name for themselves.

After “Girl In A Country Song,” we’ve seen “bro country” take a steady decline in mainstream country music (in part due to the explosion of Chris Stapleton). But needless to say, everybody who’s a fan of real country music owes Maddie & Tae a HUGE thank you for actually calling it out… God knows not many others did.

Also, checkout the song’s music video. It’s fucking hilarious.

A beer bottle on a dock

STAY ENTERTAINED

A RIFF ON WHAT COUNTRY IS REALLY ABOUT

A beer bottle on a dock