After a decade immersed in Nashville's country music scene, Marissa R. Moss has seen firsthand how pervasive gender inequalities affect female artists from all corners of the genre. Now, she's helping take control of the narrative — literally — with her new book, Her Country: How the Women of Country Music Became the Success They Were Never Supposed to Be.

Moss follows the trajectories of Kacey Musgraves, Maren Morris and Mickey Guyton as touch points for country's current climate, as all three have navigated the choppy waters of radio bias and helped broaden the genre's limitations. Looking back at the '90s — an era where, at least from the outside, country radio seemed dominated by women like Shania Twain, Faith Hill, Trisha Yearwood and Reba McEntire — provides context to the narrative, but Her Country is powerfully of-the-moment. 

As Moss suggests, country music is, and always has been, a lens through which to examine broader cultural narratives in the U.S. at large. "To be able to weave in some cultural and political narratives — which, in my opinion, you always should, because you can't remove them from these conversations — that made [the book] extra timely," she tells GRAMMY.com.

Guyton saw her star rise after she released 2020's "Black Like Me," which chronicles her experience as a Black woman in America and in country music. Later that year, Morris delivered "Better Than We Found It," her reflection on the importance of making the world a more equal, welcoming place. (Both songs earned GRAMMY nominations, Guyton in 2021 and Morris in 2022.) Musgraves has long weaved advocacy for equality and acceptance into her musical narrative, with her 2013 hit "Follow Your Arrow" and Golden Hour single "Rainbow" becoming unofficial LGBTQ anthems. 

While the Her Country women are at the forefront of purveying change in the genre, they're not alone. Countless artists spoke out against racial injustice after the death of George Floyd in May 2020; a month later, the Chicks dropped "Dixie" from their name as a move toward equality. The women of country have publicly supported each other, too, from Carrie Underwood's all-female roster on her 2019 Cry Pretty 360 Tour to Jennifer Nettles' 2019 CMA cape that read "Play Our F*@#!N Records, Please & Thank You." 

Still, the lack of women representation within the format remains. As Moss highlights in Her Country, women make up only 16% of country radio airplay — a far cry from the heyday of the '90s. But that percentage doesn't square with the crowds they've commanded, or the diverse (and fiercely loyal) fan bases they've amassed.

To help understand the genre's complicated, often divisive trajectory toward equality and change — and to offer a look towards where it's going next — Moss discusses the themes and discoveries behind Her Country.

Moss will be moderating An Evening With LeAnn Rimes, the opening program of GRAMMY Museum’s The Power Of Women In Country Music exhibit, on May 31. The event will be held at the Clive Davis Theater in Los Angeles starting at 7:30 p.m. PT. For tickets and more information, click here.

Thinking about the current state of country music, or the broader cultural climate of the U.S., what made the topic of this book a pressing conversation for right now?

It was one of those things that was so obvious to me that I hadn't even quite necessarily thought, "I should write this book." And that's how so many really important things are. You think everyone knows these big stories, but basically, that wasn't the case. The radio charts show one story of the genre, but I knew that wasn't gonna be the story that I know, or the story I wanted to tell — [the story] that felt important to document.

If you view country music as a microcosm of what's going on in our country at any given moment right now, in so many ways, that made it extra interesting. To be able to weave in some cultural and political narratives — which, in my opinion, you always should, because you can't remove them from these conversations. To look at country music and our country's narrative at the same time — that made it extra timely. 

The three focal points in Her Country are Kacey Musgraves, Mickey Guyton and Maren Morris — three artists whose careers are still relatively young, compared to '90s-era female country stars, or even current veterans Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood. What did it feel like writing about these women in real time, as important moments in their careers were unfolding?

You can read entire books about Miranda and Carrie, and that could have been one route. Or you could have chosen Shania or Reba — really, whoever — but I wanted women who were a couple of albums in each, but had been following this career since they were teeny tiny kids. 

Obviously, Carrie and Miranda are still very much of the moment, and make modern albums, but to some degree they've moved into a little bit of a legacy status, at this point. I wanted to look at women who were right in that moment of everything exploding and unfolding. That was the best way to tell the story that I thought was important to tell. 

Did you ever write a section and then have to later revisit it because a major development had happened in an artist's career?

Yeah, especially for Mickey. That was really challenging. I chose to end the book as their current albums were coming out, and leave the next phase up in the air, a little bit. Otherwise you could keep writing forever and the book would never end! 

So much of what was happening was happening in real time. And at the same time, it was COVID, so I couldn't be out on the road. I was at my house giving virtual school to my two kids under seven. It was a very interesting period, because history was happening as I was writing it.  But I was also writing in a very different way than I thought I would be before COVID, because I was stuck at home and I couldn't, like, pick up and move to Texas for a month. So it was all very different than I imagined, but for the best in some ways — just not the COVID part.

Read More: 5 Women Essential To Country Music: Dolly Parton, Mickey Guyton, Jo Walker-Meador, The Love Junkies & Mother Maybelle Carter

Did the research you did for this book shift your perspective on your subject matter?

It never stopped amazing me — as I dug back into the story of Mickey and Kacey and Maren — how truly, they were on this path from so early. People say "I've wanted to do this since I was a kid," but, you know, Maren was playing in honky tonks at, like, 11. And then on the flip side, reading back about the Chicks, and even old Kacey stuff, I found so many new things to make me mad, make me angry. Early coverage of Mickey, and the way she was written about. There was never a shortage of that, either. 

There's no shortage of things to get angry about in country music's recent history, either. Maren talking about her feelings on the Morgan Wallen scandal in early 2021 is a particularly powerful passage.

I even feel that, and I'm just a regular person, not a famous musician. I had times where I just felt so discouraged, and disappointed and angry. But, you know, as Maren said, you're not going to make a difference by leaving. 

I think that applies to so many things. It's a powerful idea in politics, even here in Tennessee, where politically, it feels unsafe for a lot of people — more so than before. Sometimes I wake up and I'm like, "Okay, I can't stay here." But then I understand that that's a huge privilege, and there's a lot more that can be done by staying and making a better place for people who don't have the privileges you do.

One thing that makes me hopeful about the genre is how tirelessly Mickey has worked to help carve out a space for Black artists in the genre, and how artists like Breland, Brittney Spencer, Blanco Brown, Amethyst Kiah and so many others are finding a home in the genre over the past couple of years. What makes you hopeful about country music right now?

That's so true. And those artists were always there, but they either were not supported or not heard. There's a lot of inspiring things going on with Black Opry, and amazing coalitions of artists creating their own spaces. 

At the same time, I go back and forth. I see-saw between inspiration and desolation. Both of those things exist. It's hopeful and it's inspiring, but it's not candy-coated — and it couldn't be, because that's not the truth. 

What grounds me is just listening to music. I know it sounds so simple. And being reminded of how much I love it and how much good music is out there, and how much more good music is going to have an opportunity to get to your ears now. 

Read More: 5 Takeaways From Miranda Lambert's 'Palomino'

What music have you found most grounding recently?

I've spent a lot of time with the new Leyla McCalla album, which I think is really brilliant. Miranda [Lambert]'s new album is great. I love Maren's new record — not to shill the women I'm writing about! [Laughs.]

I love Morgan Wade. A lot of times I go back to the favorites: Tyler Childers' Purgatory, [Sturgill Simpson]'s Metamodern Sounds in Country Music and [Margo Price]'s Midwestern Farmer's Daughter. Kelsey Waldon. I listen to [her album, White Noise/White Lines] in my car, in the CD player. I never took it out because it never got old.

**In the dedication for your book, you write "For anyone who needs to be reminded that it's your country music, too." Did you have any particular type of reader in mind when you were writing Her Country?**

Over the years, as someone who you wouldn't think would be a country fan on paper, I guess — a Jewish kid growing up in New York — I've met a lot of people who fall into the category of being a country fan who you wouldn't stereotypically assume is a country fan. And then you realize that person doesn't exist. There's not just one [kind of] person who has a right to listen to country music. 

I feel weird saying that, because the artists are really the ones doing the work — it goes an especially long way with Mickey, Kacey or Maren, with their fans saying they had never felt welcomed in the genre until they started listening to Kacey Musgraves. And then that opened up a different world to them. Or Black artists who hadn't seen a Black woman country artist at an awards show in modern times — until they saw Mickey, and that opened up a new world to them. Those are the fans that I hope will feel welcomed back in, or welcomed in for the first time, through a lot of these stories. 

You describe yourself as the country fan who people might not assume is a country fan — who made you feel that country music was your genre?

I got into country music in a funny way. I was listening to the Grateful Dead and Bob Dylan, but my dad lived in Texas for a while and loved country radio. At the time I was a young kid with, you know, opinions — anything that your parents did was not cool. I didn't appreciate the '90s country thing, in the back of the car. But it must've gotten through there somehow. 

I moved to Nashville in 2011, 2012. I was listening to country music before then, obviously, but I really fell in love with what was going on at the time. Caitlin Rose, Nikki Lane and Andrew Combs — all of their first records were hitting around that time. And I really fell in love with Jason Isbell. The way that they were interpreting country music and celebrating it in this different way — that still felt very traditional, but spoke to me directly — is part of the reason that I fell so hard for Nashville when I moved here. That was the soundtrack to what was happening back then. And I just loved it.

"Country Music Lost A True Legend": Remembering Naomi Judd, A Country Icon Who Epitomized Love Through Music

In February, Beyoncé added to her record-breaking legacy by becoming the first Black woman to top Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart with her single "TEXAS HOLD 'EM."

"I feel honored," she shared on Instagram in a countdown post to her RENAISSANCE sequel, Act II: COWBOY CARTER, out March 29. "My hope is that years from now, the mention of an artist's race, as it relates to releasing genres of music, will be irrelevant."

Since she first dabbled in country music with "Daddy Lessons" in 2016, the icon has received consistent backlash about whether she belongs in the genre. That same year, audiences campaigned for a boycott against the Country Music Awards for her performance of the track alongside The Chicks, later resulting in its erasure from promotional advertisements. And eight years later, the conversation returns as radio listeners question if her music should air on country stations.

Ironically, if you look back through music history, you will quickly discover that Beyoncé isn't the first (and certainly not the last) Black musician doing country music. 

In fact, the genre plants its sonic roots in negro spirituals and field songs, written on slave plantations. African American Vernacular English continues to influence contemporary chart-topper's lyricism and vocal twang. The banjo, which descends from the West African akonting lute, remains one of the quintessential instruments of the genre. Whether Beyoncé or the many artists who came before her, nothing sits at the heart of country music more than Black art.

To understand the full scope of Black creatives' impact in country, GRAMMY.com examines some of the influential tracks and moments of those who have made their mark on the genre and the music industry — from DeFord Bailey's Grand Ole Opry debut in 1927, to Darius Rucker's post-Hootie & The Blowfish country foray in 2008, to Breland's 2021 fusion of country and hip-hop.

DeFord Bailey — "Pan American Blues" (1927)

Before there was Mickey Guyton, Darius Rucker, or even Charley Pride, there was DeFord Bailey, the "harmonica wizard" from Tennessee.

After performing locally, another musician introduced Bailey to Nashville powerhouse radio station WSM's manager, George D. Hay, who later invited him to join the Grand Ole Opry — making Bailey the first Black member. He quickly rose to become one of the program's highest-paid players at the time, largely thanks to his iconic instrumental tune, "Pan American Blues," which imitated the sounds he heard from the railroad during his childhood.

As of press time, the only other Black inductees in the Grand Ole Opry are Rucker and Pride.

Lead Belly — "In The Pines" (1944)

"My girl, my girl, don't lie to me/ Tell me, where did you sleep last night?/ In the pines, in the pines/ Whether the sun don't ever shine/ I would shiver the whole night through," Huddie "Lead Belly" Ledbetter questions in the Appalachian folk song, "In the Pines."

Though Lead Belly isn't the original writer of the song, his chilling vibrato on the recording inspired singers for years to come, including Kurt Cobain, who later covered the track in Nirvana's 1993 MTV Unplugged performance under the title "Where Did You Sleep Last Night?" and named the '40s country blues legend his "favorite performer."

Linda Martell — "Color Him Father" (1969)

In "Color Him Father," Linda Martell narrates the heartfelt tale of a stepdad who embraces his new paternal role to a widowed mother and her seven children. It's also the song that propelled her to stardom, landing her a historic performance as the first Black woman on the Grand Ole Opry stage and later opening the door for debut album, Color Me Country.

After the project was released, Martell stepped away from the limelight, but her impact lived on. She was the inspiration for contemporary luminaries like Mickey Guyton: "The fact that she was there was groundbreaking ... She gave me the courage to be here," Guyton told Rolling Stone in 2020.

Charley Pride — "Kiss an Angel Good Mornin'" (1971)

Through his nearly seven decades-spanning career, Charley Pride became a certified hitmaker and one of the most renowned pioneers of his time. By 1987, he amassed more than 50 Top 10 hits on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart, with 30 peaking at No. 1 — including his most notable single, "Kiss an Angel Good Mornin'."

After Pride passed away from COVID-19 complications in 2020, the response to his death highlighted the magnitude of his legacy, receiving condolences from Dolly Parton, Billy Ray Cyrus, and perhaps the most personal from Darius Rucker.

"I couldn't have done what I do, I don't think, if there hadn't been Charley before me," Rucker said in an essay for Billboard. Pride served not only as an icon but also as a mentor to Rucker, and his kindness ultimately gave Rucker the courage to do the same for the next generation.

Cleve Francis — "You Do My Heart Good" (1992)

As a cardiologist and songwriter, Dr. Cleve Francis certainly knew a "good heart."

In his 1992 track, "You Do My Heart Good," Francis sings about a budding love that shows him how to see life in a beautiful light. The song eventually became the second single from his Liberty Records debut LP, Tourist in Paradise.

Francis later founded the now-defunct Black Country Music Association in 1995 to foster an inclusive environment in the Nashville music scene and provide resources to aspiring singers. Under his advisory, the BCMA, with the help of Warner Bros., produced From Where I Stand, a record book of Black artists' contributions to the genre.

Darius Rucker — "Don't Think I Don't Think About It" (2008)

Before 2008, many knew Darius Rucker better as Hootie, thanks to his remarkable '90s run as frontman of jangle pop band Hootie & the Blowfish. But with his second album as a solo act, 2008's Learn to Live, the world met Darius Rucker, the country artist.

Fittingly, he chose a heartbreaking ballad for his first country single — "Don't Think I Don't Think About It," a heartbreaking ballad about a man who wonders what could have been in a previous relationship. The choice resonated with country listeners:  "Don't Think I Don't Think About It" debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart, making Rucker the first Black country artist to have a chart-topper since Pride in 1983. 

Kane Brown — "Heaven" (2017)

Since his major label debut, Brown has possessed a unique boy-next-door charm, less "Western" than his peers. "Not laced up in a tight belt and buckle hat," but proof that "you can be who you want to be, and you can still listen to country music," his manager, Martha Earls, told Variety in 2018.

Take "Heaven," a romantic ballad with the Southern drawl and instrumentation of a classic country tune. But when you add Brown's R&B influence and natural swagger, the track invites audiences both in and outside of country.

Though Brown now has 12 No. 1 songs on the Country Airplay chart, "Heaven" is undoubtedly the country star's biggest song to date thanks to its crossover qualities and romantic resonance. And just last year, "Heaven" became only the seventh country artist in history to receive a diamond certification from the RIAA; Brown is the second Black country artist to achieve the feat, as Rucker's anthemic cover of "Wagon Wheel" reached diamond status in 2022.

Mickey Guyton — "Black Like Me" (2020)

In a 2020 interview with Rolling Stone, Mickey Guyton recalled that she wrote "Black Like Me" at a writer's retreat in 2019, thinking, "There is no way that anybody is going to accept this." But at the height of the Black Lives Matter protests after the murder of George Floyd in 2020, there was no doubt that it was what the industry, especially the country genre, needed to hear.

"It's a hard life on easy street/ Just white painted picket fences far as you can see/ If you think we live in the land of the free/ You should try to be Black like me," she croons on the chorus.

The single made Guyton the first-ever Black woman nominated for Best Country Solo Performance at the 2021 GRAMMYs, and also helped her earn nominations for New Female Artist Of The Year and New Artist Of The Year at the Academy of Country Music Awards and the Country Music Association Awards, respectively, in 2021..

Guyton continues to use her voice for advocacy, from speaking out on racial issues to chronicling the Black experience on her 2021 album, Remember Her Name. 

Breland — "Throw It Back" (2021)

Since making his debut with "My Truck" in 2019, Breland has been praised for his innovative fusion of country, gospel, hip-hop, and R&B. But beyond his sonic landscape, he's also inviting some unlikely choreography into the genre: twerking.

"If she got a shot of whiskey, she know how to throw it back/ She turn up for Elvis Presley, told the DJ, 'Throw it back,'" Breland cheers in the chorus of the trap-infused track.  "If you sexy and you know it, make it clap."

"Throw It Back" features Keith Urban, whoappreciates Breland for his confidence to go beyond the mold of country music's expectations. "He's one of the only artists I've ever met that does not care at all what something sounds like or what box it fits. If he likes it, if it catches his ear, he wants to be a part of it in some way," Urban explained to Taste of Country in 2021.

The War and Treaty — "Blank Page" (2022)

The War and Treaty are making the most of their "Blank Page."

The husband-and-wife pair — Michael Trotter Jr. and Tanya Trotter — began their musical journey together in 2016.  Seven years later, thanks to their first major label EP, 2022's Blank Page, they also started making history. The War and Treaty became the first Black duo to receive a nomination for Duo Of The Year at the 2023 Academy of Country Music Awards, where they also delivered a stirring performance of the EP's title track, a heartfelt song about a new slate in love. 

Six months later, they made history again as the first Black pair nominated for Duo Of The Year at the 2023 Country Music Association Awards; they took the stage there as well, performing"That's How Love Is Made" from their 2023 album, Lover's Game. 

They added to their growing legacy at the 2024 GRAMMYs as well,  receiving their first GRAMMY nominations. "Blank Page" earned the duo a nod for Best American Roots Song, and they also were up for the coveted Best New Artist.

Tanner Adell — "Buckle Bunny" (2023)

When Beyoncé dropped "TEXAS HOLD 'EM" and "16 CARRIAGES" in February, country newcomer Tanner Adell readily tossed her cowgirl hat into the ring to become Queen Bey's next collaborator. "I hope Bey decides to sprinkle me with a dash of her magic," she pitched in a tweet that has now garnered more than four million views.

Adell's music is reminiscent of Beyoncé's own empowered narratives, particularly the 2023 single "Buckle Bunny," which even declares that she's "Lookin' like Beyoncé with a lasso." Like Breland, Adell brings a hip-hop flair to country music, exemplified by the thumping beats and rap-inspired singing of "Buckle Bunny."

As artists like Adell, Breland, Kane Brown, and more continue to push the boundaries of the country genre, they'll also remind listeners of its rich lineage in Black culture — past, present, and future.

Why 2024 Is The Year Women In Country Music Will Finally Have Their Moment

A new Kacey Musgraves era is upon us! The country superstar teased the news with a cryptic social media post on Feb. 4: "I'm saying goodbye to the people that I feel are real good at wasting my time," she wrote in the caption. "No regrets, baby, I just think that maybe you go your way and I'll go mine."

That teaser coincided with a historic win at the 2024 GRAMMY Awards. The seven-time GRAMMY winner took home the golden gramophone for Best Country Duo/Group Performance for "I Remember Everything," her 2023 collab with Zach Bryan; with that victory, she became the first artist to win in all four Country Field Categories. (She won Best Country Album and Best Country Song in 2014 and 2019 — for Same Trailer Different Park and "Merry Go Round," and Golden Hour and "Space Cowboy," respectively — and "Space Cowboy" also took home Best Country Solo Performance in 2019.)

Fresh off that achievement, Musgraves announced her forthcoming album, Deeper Well,and shared its folksy, introspective title track. As fans eagerly await its release, GRAMMY.com has rounded up everything to be found about the singer/songwriter's fifth studio set so far.

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The Album Drops Sooner Than You Think

We're quickly coming up on three years since Musgraves released her fourth full-length, star-crossed, and suddenly, the release of Deeper Well is just around the corner. Just a few days after her GRAMMYs teaser, the country star revealed that her sixth album will be released in just a matter of weeks.

"My new album, Deeper Well, is arriving March 15th," Musgraves wrote on social media. "It's a collection of songs I hold very dear to my heart. I hope it makes a home in all of your hearts, too."

There Are Two Different Covers

In her social post, Musgraves shared that Deeper Well will have not one, but two different covers — both shot by the singer's younger sister Kelly. 

The standard cover features the superstar gazing wistfully into the camera as she cradles a crimson clover in her hand. The limited edition cover is more evocative (and NSFW), with Musgraves laying nude, curled up in a verdant field with her back turned to the camera.

The Lead Single Is Also the Title Track

Ahead of the album's full unveiling, Musgraves dropped "Deeper Well" as its lead single. The gentle, finger-plucked track finds the singer/songwriter outgrowing relationships and choices that no longer serve her, blazing a new trail for herself and finding peace in the process: "I just think that maybe/ It's natural when things lose their shine/ So other things can glow," she sings.

"Sometimes you reach a crossroads. Winds change direction. What you once felt drawn to doesn't hold the same allure," Musgraves dished in a statement about the song's themes. "You get blown off course but eventually find your footing and forage for new inspiration, new insight and deeper love somewhere else."

She's Serving Cottagecore Space Witch In The First Music Video

Along with the song and album announcement, Musgraves shared the "Deeper Well" music video on Thursday — and the cinematic visual is a trip. 

Helmed by A-list director Hannah Lux Davis and shot in Iceland, the clip finds the singer holed up in a picturesque cabin and wandering a stunning coastline strewn with giant, levitating boulders. 

The costuming, meanwhile, leans more "homestead chic" as Musgraves rocks patchwork pioneer dresses, work bandanas and a cozily oversized shearling coat as she tends to a menagerie of farm animals, hangs laundry, gathers crops and, oh yeah, gets swallowed up by a magical, glowing orb by the video's end. 

From the looks of Musgraves' Instagram — and her newly minted profile name, Kacey Mossgraves — it seems the farmcore aesthetic might ring throughout Deeper Well.

The Album Will Showcase The Singer's "Softer Side"

Musgraves teased the creative direction of Deeper Well in a new interview with Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1. "I've found more of a connection to my softer side, my roots, like some of the Americana, the folk, the country, some of the stuff, really the warmth of that. I felt drawn to that. 

"I felt like I was in a softer place myself after star-crossed and going through a divorce and doing a lot of therapy and honestly falling in love again and opening myself back up to the human experience," she continued. "These songs just kind of started coming out."

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She's Releasing A Coffee Table Book

For another way to experience Musgraves' Deeper Well era, the singer/songwriter whipped up an 84-page 'zine with photos, lyrics, and stories behind the songs. Fans can purchase the soft-cover book — which comes with a CD — on her website, or at Barnes & Noble and indie record stores.

As Musgraves' punny Instagram caption notes, the book is another indication that she's "onto the next chapter (literally)."

The Track List Is Already Here

Musgraves is no stranger to delivering bodies of work upwards of a dozen-plus songs, and it looks like Deeper Well will be no exception. The 14-song track list was unveiled on Instagram, with song titles like "Giver / Taker" and "Jade Green" fitting both the theme of letting go as well as the cottagecore aesthetic seamlessly.

She's Working with Some Familiar Collaborators

According to her announcement, Deeper Well was co-produced by Ian Fitchuk and Daniel Tashian, both of whom worked with Musgraves on 2018's Golden Hour — which won Album Of The Year at the 61st GRAMMY Awards — and 2021's star-crossed. If those albums are any indication, Deeper Well is bound to be another Kacey masterpiece.

Big First Wins At The 2024 GRAMMYs: Karol G, Lainey Wilson, Victoria Monét & More

Country music has long felt like a boy's club.

From the genre's humble beginnings of Hank Williams, Roy Acuff and Jimmie Rodgers, through the outlaw movement of Johnny Cash, George Jones and Merle Haggard, to more modern day giants like Garth Brooks, George Strait and Tim McGraw, men have been dominating the genre for nearly a century.

Even now, megastars like Morgan Wallen, Luke Combs and Zach Bryan have comfortably inherited the position, virtually ruling the airwaves of country music and beyond for the majority of 2023. Those three have almost single-handedly helped the genre become arguably the biggest it's ever been — and it's finally opening the door for women to join in.

As the genre has boomed over the last year or so, it's created an opportunity for female artists to get in on a bigger slice of the pie. While the guys were out there wooing the mainstream, a handful of ladies were making their own fair share of noise with superstars Lainey Wilson, Kelsea Ballerini, Kacey Musgraves and Carly Pearce showing the genre what girl power is all about, and representing at the 2024 GRAMMYs as a result.

Of course, a handful of female artists have been able to push through the cracks through the years, from Loretta Lynn and Dolly Parton to Shania Twain and Carrie Underwood. But historically, women have largely been chasing equal stature in the country music limelight. The genre's gender gap came to a head with 2015's "Tomato-gate" controversy, when radio consultant Keith Hill compared radio airplay to a salad, with the men as the lettuce and women as a tomato garnish.

Although airplay hasn't necessarily grown (a recent study found that female artists received an abysmal 11 percent of airplay in 2022), that hasn't stopped women in the genre from making an impact. In the last few years, a growing group of women have been rewriting the rules, nabbing major award nominations and wins, selling out headlining tours, notching No. 1s and breaking records — and they only seem to be gaining speed.

As a new year begins, take a look at a few of the ways women are breaking through in country music.

GRAMMY Representation

For the past few GRAMMYs ceremonies, we've been seeing more and more female names in country music listed among the nominees.

The shift was first really felt at the 63rd GRAMMY Awards in 2021, when women dominated the nominations thanks to the colossal successes of Best New Artist nominee Ingrid Andress, country stalwart Miranda Lambert and female supergroup the Highwomen (comprised of previous GRAMMY winners Maren Morris, Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hemby and Amanda Shires).

Female artists have continued to carve out their spot in GRAMMY history with nominations and wins. One of the most notable wins came in 2023, when Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde's history-making duet, "Never Wanted To Be That Girl," claimed Best Country Duo/Group Performance.

Pearce is once again nominated in the Best Country Duo/Group Performance category at the 2024 GRAMMYs, this year for her chilling duet with decorated tunesmith Chris Stapleton, "We Don't Fight Anymore," which could find her claiming the prize for a second consecutive year.

While women don't dominate the Country Field nominees at the 2024 GRAMMYs, Pearce isn't alone. There's plenty of success stories throughout the categories, and one of the people leading that charge is Lainey Wilson.

More than a decade after moving to Nashville, Wilson's fourth studio album, Bell Bottom Country, has been propelling her to the forefront of the genre. The album helped earn Wilson a nomination for Best Country Album — one of her first two career GRAMMY nominations, the other for Best Country Duo/Group Performance for "Save Me," her evocative collaboration with country-rap trailblazer (and 2024 Best New Artist nominee), Jelly Roll.

One of the genre's most enduring duets of 2023, Zach Bryan and Kacey Muscgraves' "I Remember Everything," is also in the running for Best Country Duo/Group Performance. Along with debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and reigning atop Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart for 16 weeks as of press time, the collab continued Musgraves' GRAMMY success. Also nominated for Best Country Song, "I Remember Everything" brings Musgraves' nomination total to 13; as of press time, she's won 6 GRAMMYs, including the coveted Album Of The Year in 2019 for Golden Hour.

Seasoned singer/songwriter Brandy Clark secured the most nominations of all the female country artists, with 6 nods across the Musical Theater, Americana and Country categories. Notably, her twice-nominated "Buried," included on her self-titled LP, nabbed nominations for both Best Country Song and Best Country Solo Performance.

Dolly Parton earned her 54th GRAMMY nomination this year, for Best Country Solo Performance for her solo version of one of her earliest hits, "The Last Thing On My Mind." First released in 1967 as her debut duet with Porter Wagoner, the 2023 version of the song features Parton's signature, soulful vocals and was included in the I Am a Pilgrim: Doc Watson at 100 tribute album.

Elsewhere in the 2024 GRAMMY nominations, pop-country darling Kelsea Ballerini is nominated alongside Wilson in the Best Country Album category with her Rolling Up the Welcome Mat EP. The triumphant and soul-bearing project led to one of her most commercially and critically successful years to date (more on that later).

Growing Success At Country Radio & Beyond

As her two GRAMMY nominations indicate, Lainey Wilson was arguably country music's woman of 2023. Notching four trips to the top of the Mediabase Country Airplay chart in 2023, she set two records: most No. 1s by a female country artist in a calendar year and most No. 1's on Billboard's Country Airplay chart by a female artist this decade. This was thanks to her own "Heart Like A Truck" and "Watermelon Moonshine," as well as her HARDY collaboration "wait in the truck" and the aforementioned Jelly Roll team-up "Save Me."

Beyond her profound radio success, 2023 also saw Wilson nab four ACM Awards and five CMA trophies; at the latter, she won Female Vocalist of the Year, Album of the Year and the coveted Entertainer of the Year, whose last female winner came in 2011 with country-turned-pop superstar, Taylor Swift.

Wilson's fellow Best Country Album nominee, Kelsea Ballerini, also had a banner year. While her nominated Rolling Up the Welcome Mat EP didn't spawn a radio hit, it made quite an impression on streaming and social media. Due to its raw account of her public divorce from singer Morgan Evans, Ballerini's latest project helped her sell out her headlining tour, receive an invite to perform on Saturday Night Live, and earn an array of major award nominations.

Another proven hitmaker, Carly Pearce, nabbed her fourth No. 1 with her heartbreak anthem, "What He Didn't Do," which reached the top of the Country Aircheck/Mediabase chart last March. Newcomer Megan Moroney topped the same chart in June with her 2022 debut single, "Tennessee Orange," which helped her have a remarkable breakout year including her first award and a sold-out tour.

Rising country star Priscilla Block also secured a No. 1 on Mediabase's Country Airplay chart with her Justin Moore duet, "You, Me, and Whiskey," while more veteran act Gabby Barrett — who scored back-to-back No. 1 hits on Billboard's Country Airplay chart in 2020 and 2021 — reached the top 10 of the chart in 2023 with her single "Pick Me Up."

Female Artists On the Horizon

In the last 12 months, rising female country artists hit their stride, bringing a lot of promise to tackling the genre's gender gap. Hailey Whitters landed her first chart entry on both Billboard's Country Airplay and Hot 100 charts with her breakthrough single, "Everything She Ain't," which broke the top 20 on the former tally. Sister duo Tigirlily Gold saw their debut single, "Shoot Tequila," surge into the top 40 on country radio while they also juggled making their Opry debut, a loaded touring schedule and the release of their acclaimed Blonde EP.

Aside from the radio dial, women also had massive years on the road, earning major touring slots with some of the genre's big hitters. Big Loud prodigy Ashley Cooke put out her debut effort, Shot in the Dark, which propelled her onto Luke Bryan's Country Again Tour and Jordan Davis' Damn Good Time Tour. Meanwhile, Ella Langley, a country-rocker in the making, spent her year alongside Riley Green and Jon Pardi, as songs from her debut EP, Excuse the Mess, garnered millions of streams.

Beyond commercial success, there are a slew of burgeoning female singer/songwriters who are also poised to break through. Alana Springsteen, who released her three-part twenty something project in 2023, is establishing herself as one of the newest (and most relatable) voices in the country-pop world. Meanwhile, Lauren Watkins — who doubled down in 2023 with two EPs, Introducing: Lauren Watkins and Introducing: The Heartbreak — is reinventing the neo-traditional, retro country music of generations past.

Similarly, "The Voice" alum Emily Ann Roberts is out to make traditional country cool again as demonstrated on her debut LP, Can't Hide Country, while Catie Offerman, a powerhouse multi-instrumentalist, is bringing her Texas charm and clever turns of phrase into the country mainstream one infectious single at a time.

Next up is Brittney Spencer, who will release her debut album, My Stupid Life, on Jan. 19. As her glistening, genre-bending music continues to gain commercial traction, she's already loved by critics and artists alike; Maren Morris just recruited her for a dynamic performance of "The Tree" on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" alongside Mickey Guyton.

While it's impossible to mention all of the country women out there making moves, it's more than evident that female artists are ready to take up more of the country music landscape than ever before — and 2024 might just be the year that women finally get their due.

2023 In Review: 5 Trends That Defined Country Music

If 2023 wasn't the biggest year ever for mainstream success in country music, it came mighty close.

Across the three major fronts in the music industry — live concerts, music streams and sales, and chart performance — country music reminded audiences why it's a vital American music form and a conversation starter in our culture.

According to Billboard, 48 years have passed since more country artists racked up more No. 1 hits on its all-genre Hot 100 chart. This year saw chart-toppers from record-breaker Morgan Wallen ("Last Night"), established hitmaker Jason Aldean ("Try That in a Small Town"), viral newcomer Oliver Anthony ("Rich Men North of Richmond"), and 2022's big success story, Zach Bryan ("I Remember Everything" featuring Kacey Musgraves). Back in 1975, four country artists and five songs reached the Hot 100's summit: Glen Campbell, B.J. Thomas, Freddy Fender, and two cuts by John Denver.

Meanwhile, more than a dozen country artists landed on the Billboard Year-End Top Artists chart, with Wallen and Luke Combs landing in the top five. In addition, Apple Music named Wallen its top global music artist of 2023.

But enough prelude — let's get down to why the genre has been booming, by tracking the five biggest trends in country music in 2023.

There Was Massive Crossover

Morgan Wallen pulled country music's biggest crossover on the charts, ending the year with five of the top 50 most streamed songs of 2023 on Spotify, as well as 11 of the top 100 songs on Apple Music (all U.S. charts). He landed eight songs on the year-end Billboard Hot 100, including "Last Night," a tale of whisky-fueled love and regret driven by acoustic guitar and  clap-along percussion, which held the top spot for 16 weeks, the most for a non-collaboration song in the chart's 65-year history. It was also the most streamed song on Apple Music globally, contributing to the streaming service naming Wallen its top global music artist of 2023. 

Zach Bryan became the second artist to place at least 18 songs on the Hot 100 chart in the same week when he dropped his self-titled sophomore album in August — second only to Wallen's record of 36 songs, coinciding with the March release of his double-album One Thing at a Time. Zach Bryan is nominated for Best Country Album at the 2024 GRAMMYs, alongside Kelsea Ballerini's Rolling Up The Welcome Mat, Brothers Osborne's Brothers Osborne, Tyler Childers' Rustin' In The Rain, and Lainey Wilson's Bell Bottom Country. (More on Bryan later.)

The Hot 100 further indicated the genre's crossover success in early August, when the top three positions were occupied by country songs:  Jason Aldean's "Try That in a Small Town," Morgan Wallen's "Last Night," and Luke Combs' cover of Tracy Chapman's 1988 classic. Not only was it the first time in history that country songs dominated the first three spots on the all-genre chart, but it also happened two more times on Aug. 26 and Sept. 2. "Last Night" and "Fast Car" also received nominations for the 2024 GRAMMYs; "Last Night" is nominated for Best Country Song at the 2024 GRAMMYs alongside with Brandy Clark's "Buried," Zach Bryan and Kacey Musgraves' "I Remember Everything," Tyler Childers' "In Your Love," and Chris Stapleton's "White Horse," while "Fast Car" is Best Country Solo Performance alongside "White Horse," "Buried," "In Your Love." and Dolly Parton's "The Last Thing on My Mind." 

What's more, two of the eight Best New Artist nominees at the 2024 GRAMMYs are country acts, "Son of a Sinner" star Jelly Roll and soulful husband-and-wife duo The War and Treaty. They're nominated alongside Gracie Abrams, Fred again.., Ice Spice, Coco Jones, Noah Kahan and Victoria Monét.

Lainey Wilson celebrated a banner crossover year both in music and television. Along with parlaying the hit Paramount series "Yellowstone" into more exposure for her music, she became the first female artist in history to have four No. 1 hits on country radio in a calendar year thanks to "Heart Like A Truck," "Wait in the Truck" with HARDY, "Watermelon Moonshine" and "Save Me" with Jelly Roll — all of which cracked the top 30 of the all-genre Hot 100.

Several Musicians Court Controversy

Historically, popular country music tends to revolve around themes often imbued with imagery and anecdotes from small-town American life, from love won and lost to simply having a good time. But in 2023, politics infiltrated country music in a more mainstream way than perhaps ever before — even prompting Maren Morris to declare she was leaving country music. "I thought I'd like to burn it to the ground and start over," Morris told the Los Angeles Times in September. "But it's burning itself down without my help."

Jason Aldean's single "Try That in a Small Town" didn't cause much of a ruckus when it dropped in May, but the promotional video for the song, released in July, certainly kicked a hornet's nest of dissatisfaction. The lyrics begin with a carjacking and a robbery, then confront advocates of gun control and flex how "good ol' boys, raised up right" will step up to defend their own. The song "refers to the feeling of a community that I had growing up," Aldean wrote on Twitter, "where we took care of our neighbors, regardless of differences of background or belief."

But if he was only looking to reboot the s—-kickin' country-boy theme of Hank Williams Jr's 1981 song "A Country Boy Can Survive," he lost the plot with the video. The clip intersperses shots of Aldean and his band performing with footage of riots and destruction reminiscent of the 2020 racial protests sparked by the deaths of Elijah McClain, Breona Taylor, George Floyd and others by police force. And the filming location, the Maury County Courthouse in Columbia, Tennessee — site of the 1927 lynching of an 18-year-old Black man by a white mob — only stoked tensions. The controversy eventually dimmed, but not before the song hit No. 1 on the Hot 100.

Just three days after Aldean's song reached the top, a folk song by an unknown artist with no previous history in the music business hit YouTube and spread like wildfire. "Rich Men North of Richmond," written and performed by Oliver Anthony, sparked a controversy of its own for a handful of lyrics shaming "obese welfare" recipients amid righteous blue-collar anger directed at politicians who are out of touch with the working class. 

Conservative audiences latched onto the song, and it even made an appearance at the Republican presidential debate on August 23, three days before it claimed the No. 1 spot on the Hot 100 that Aldean held just a few weeks earlier. In response, Anthony chastised the right-wingers who thought he was one of them, as well as critics on the left whom he felt mischaracterized his words. "That song is written about the people on that stage — and a lot more, too," he said in a 10-minute video posted to YouTube.

Country Icons Were Saluted

Country music has seen its share of memorable covers in more recent years, from Johnny Cash's iconic version of Nine Inch Nails' "Hurt" to Sturgill Simpson's take on the Nirvana classic "In Bloom." But the practice reached a new peak in 2023 thanks to performances and recordings from present-day and legacy stars alike.

Nashville hitmaker Luke Combs channeled his love for Tracy Chapman's 1988 hit "Fast Car" into a faithful cover on his 2023 album Gettin' Old. Combs's version reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 (Chapman's original peaked at No. 6) and has been certified double Platinum by the RIAA, in addition to winning both Single of the Year and Song of the Year at the Country Music Association awards—making Chapman the first Black woman to ever win a CMA trophy.

After Dolly Parton was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2022, she took her honor quite literally. Parton collaborated with artists ranging from Judas Priest shrieker Rob Halford to Pink and Elton John on 30 recordings, including massive hits like "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" and "Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me." The album's first single, the original composition "World On Fire," reached No. 1 on Billboard's Rock Digital Song Sales chart.

Parton also turned up on A Tribute to The Judds, another star-studded covers album, performing "Mama He's Crazy" with Lainey Wilson. Spearheaded by Wynonna Judd in tribute to her mother Naomi, her partner in the duo from 1983 until her death in April 2022, the album brings together some of country music's biggest names on 14 classics from the legendary group. Evergreen it-couple Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton take on "Love Is Alive," while Jelly Roll, K. Michelle and the Fisk Jubilee Singers perform "Love Can Build a Bridge." The album also features Reba McEntire, Carly Pearce, Jennifer Nettles and Gabby Barrett on a rendition of "Girls Night Out."

Even the Rolling Stones dabbled in the country world this year — well, sort of. The 14-song tribute album Stoned Cold Country features Eric Church on a properly sixties-sounding "Gimme Shelter," Elle King on a faithful version of "Tumbling Dice" embellished with pedal steel guitar flourishes, and guitar hero Marcus King performing the Sticky Fingers deep cut "Can't You Hear Me Knocking." Elsewhere, Brothers Osborne join The War and Treaty on a particularly soulful recording of "It's Only Rock 'n Roll (But I Like It)," and artists like Ashley McBryde, Brooks & Dunn and Maren Morris put their spin on their favorite Stones tunes.

Alt-Country Blew Up

Call it Americana, alt-country, singer/songwriter country — but the subgenre rooted in artists like Gram Parsons, John Prine and Lucinda Williams has evolved from its days as an influential side attraction to a force impacting charts, sales and box office receipts. In 2023, artists from what was once the fringes of mainstream country music showed how much they're really part of the fabric of the genre.

No artist exemplifies this surge more than Zach Bryan, who parlayed his successes in 2022 into an even bigger 2023, topping the Hot 100 and Billboard 200 albums chart for the first time, and headlining a sold-out arena tour. Folk-pop singer/songwriter Noah Kahan, who joined Bryan for the song "Sarah's Place" on Bryan's Boys of Faith EP, also found major success with songs originally performed for his 2022 album Stick Season, including a duet with Kacey Musgraves on "She Calls Me Back," released in October. 

The War and Treaty fuse gospel and soul influences with alt-country on "Blank Page" from the 2023 album Lover's Game, which picked up a nomination for the Best American Roots Song GRAMMY (competing against "California Sober" by Billy Strings Featuring Willie Nelson, "Cast Iron Skillet" by Jason Isbell And The 400 Unit, "Dear Insecurity" by Brandy Clark Featuring Brandi Carlile, and "The Returner" by Allison Russell). The husband-and-wife duo Michael Trotter Jr. and Tanya Trotter scored soulful hits with "That's How Love Is Made," as well as their own team-up with Zach Bryan on "Hey Driver," which peaked at No. 14 on the Hot 100 and No. 5 on the Hot Country Songs chart.

The return of Oklahoma sextet Turnpike Troubadours generated excitement from Texas to Tennessee and beyond, as the band headlined arenas and amphitheaters like Red Rocks in Colorado and L.A.'s Greek Theatre, plus a three-night stand in Boston. Frontman Evan Felker split the fold in 2019 but returned two years later, culminating in the release of A Cat in the Rain, their sixth album for their independent imprint Bossier City Records, in August 2023.

Collaborations Were Abundant

Covers weren't the only way that collaborations flourished in country music this year. In fact, only one nominee in the Best Country Duo/Group Performance category at the 66th GRAMMY Awards is an actual full-time group — that's Brothers Osborne, who is nominated alongside pairings of Dierks Bentley and Billy Strings ("High Note"), Zach Bryan and Kacey Musgraves ("I Remember Everything"), Vince Gill and Paul Franklin ("Kissing Your Picture (Is So Cold)"), Jelly Roll and Lainey Wilson ("Save Me"), and Carly Pearce and Chris Stapleton ("We Don't Fight Anymore"). That's just how popular artist features have become in country music.

But those are far from the only artist collaborations that made an impression. Jelly Roll also joined Dustin Lynch on "Chevrolet," while Miranda Lambert and Leon Bridges sang "If You Were Mine," a slow-rolling soul-country single. "Thank God," a duet recorded by Kane Brown and his wife, Katelyn, reached No. 13 on the Hot 100 and No. 1 on Country Airplay, only the second time a duet by a married couple reached the top (after Tim McGraw and Faith Hill's "It's Your Love" in 1997). 

Super-producer Diplo leaned into his Mississippi and Florida roots on Diplo Presents Thomas Wesley, Chapter 2 — Swamp Savant, his second collaborations album with country and hip-hop artists; "Heartbroken," an acoustic guitar-driven country-pop song featuring Jessie Murph and Polo G, reached the top 20 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart. Murph's own duet with Jelly Roll, "Wild Ones," made its mark on the same chart while notching No. 1 on the iTunes Top 200 Songs chart." 

Country music awards shows celebrated the art of the collaboration with viral crossover moments this year as well. Buzzing female country stars Ingrid Andress, Morgan Wade, Lainey Wilson and Madeline Edwards joined Alanis Morissette to perform her '90s alt-rock hit "You Oughta Know" at the CMT Awards; Ed Sheeran and Luke Combs dueted on "Life Goes On" at the ACMs; and Morgan Wallen, HARDY and Post Malone paid tribute to Joe Diffie at the CMAs by taking on his 1993 hit "John Deere Green."

Will country music continue to surge in 2024? If the chart stats, stadium tours and star-studded collaborations are any indication, it's certainly not slowing down.

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