The trifecta of ladies at the top who are killing it right now. This week, Megan Moroney appeared on the And The Writer Is… podcast, where she of course talked about her new album Cloud 9 and how all of that came together, as well as her journey to country stardom and some of the ups and downs.
Being a female in the country industry comes with its own unique set of challenges, and it’s no secret that women in particular have hard a hard time getting play on mainstream country radio in comparison to many of their male counterparts. In fact, just last year, there was an 11-week stretch on country radio from July to September where no women occupied the Top 10. It was Miss Lainey Wilson who broke the streak when “Somewhere Over Laredo” entered the Top 10 in late September.
And since then, Megan’s aforementioned album became her first-ever #1 on the all-genre Billboard 200 albums chart, and Ella scored her first-ever #1 hit on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 chart in February as well, making them the only female country duo in history to top both the Billboard Hot 100 and 200 charts simultaneously. It’s impressive, to say the least, and these three women, including Lainey, are absolutely doing things that few, if any, women in country have ever done before.
It’s inspiring, and they’ve earned every bit of their success, and the most exciting part is that it feels like it’s really still just the beginning for all of them.
So when the topic of women in country getting, or not getting, radio play came up, Megan explained that she thinks the three of them in particular are at the “top of the mountain” right now, noting that the three of them tied for the most-nominated artists at the CMA Awards this past year, tied with six each. She explained that while obviously it’s not perfect, the women are “leading the pack” and putting out such great music, which they’ve always done, but for whatever reason, it seems to be resonating differently in the mainstream now than it ever has before, and the proof is in those aforementioned radio stats:
“I feel like right now, we’re on top of the mountain, personally. With artists like Lainey and Ella, us three were the most nominated at the CMA Awards, so not to say that it’s in a perfect state, certainly we could always use some more women.
But I think to have women leading the pack and putting out such great music that fans just love, it’s like, something has changed, clearly. It’s not like great music wasn’t being put out, but for whatever reason, it’s being more mainstream and recognized, which is great, I think. And I think that the more successful we can be, the more it opens up lanes for other women.”
She absolutely nailed it, and I think it’s incredible that the three of them have already accomplished so much and I know will continue to do while putting out great music that is resonating all over the world… they make country music look really good.
The full podcast is available below.
