Each Tuesday, the account Country Central does a “hot takes” session where Country Music fans send in their random thoughts about different aspects of the genre. While almost all of the takes are either about Zach Bryan, opinions on artists who are not considered mainstream, or who they consider to be the best artist currently in the genre (they always say Zach Bryan), this past week’s brought a different take that I was excited to see…. Until I read the results on the poll showing if people agreed or disagreed. Below is the hot take.
The account also did a ranking based off votes from their followers of the top 50 artists in the genre. Shown in the picture are the results.
The hot take simply stated that it was disappointing to not see more women in the top 50 ranking. It did not state that any specific females should have made it, and it did not state that the ranking was even wrong. It just expressed how it sucked to not have more women be in that top 50 category. I naively thought that no one would truly want there to be such an imbalance in the genre, but I was incorrect. Half of the voters (I’m unaware of the total number) dislikes this hot take which means they do not agree that it is disappointing to see only 6 females in the top 50 (3 of which are in the bottom 4 of the ranking). Only Lainey Wilson and Megan Moroney are even above a rank of 43 on the list. It needs to be said again that this ranking was based off votes submitted by fans of the genre that follow the Country Central Account. It makes me question what the fans voting think it means to be a good artist in the genre.
Before I dive into my comments, I want to state a few things. I am unaware of how many people even voted in this poll (meaning it could be very skewed). It also should be noted that the people voting are going to be the more invested fans of the account that lean more into supporting and praising artists who are not even close to mainstream and usually have a more folk vibe to their music. With this being said, it makes sense that high in the rankings would be Zach Bryan, Charles Wesley Godwin, Flatland Cavalry, Tyler Childers, and Turnpike Troubadours (all produce quality music that obviously resonates with people); however, high in the rankings are also artists like Megan Moroney, HARDY, Baily Zimmerman, Thomas Rhett, and Zac Brown Band. All of these artists do not fit into the mold as described a few sentences prior. I thought maybe people voted based off their hatred for the “Nashville establishment”, but none of those artists have really ever pushed back against it and made themselves outsiders, so that argument would not work either. In fact, each of these artists would even fit into other genres at some point in their careers to try and play the system that is in fact the establishment. So, I do not know what the voters were really using to determine their top 50.
While I understand that everyone has different taste in music, and I agree that every artist on that list is a good artist in general (so don’t think I’m just here hating), I think that if fans are going to vote and create some influence in the genre, more thought should be put into it. Also, I know this is all in fun and to interact with fellow Country fans, so I do not want to take it all too seriously.
When I saw the poll though that stated half the voters liked a male dominated genre, I perceived it as thoughtless. This is because Country Music is three chords and the truth, and you can’t have the truth without both male and female perspectives. Half the population is female, so do we really think its ok to just let/want 44 men dominate the genre? No. We should not want that. Just look at the 90s (my favorite kind of Country Music). Women were basically equal with men in the genre. Some of the most recognizable names in Country dominated during this time and gave us classic songs that will always be remembered when someone says “Country Music”. This shows that women do deserve a spot in the genre, and it shows that they are capable of producing quality music that people do indeed want to hear! What do you get when no women are represented in the genre? Bro-Country…. and none of us want that again. Speaking of that time period, Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood single handedly kept the female voice alive during bro-country, so they deserve credit for that. They are also ranked in the bottom 5 of the list. Miranda Lambert’s last album was the best of her career, and Carrie Underwood is the only current female in the genre that can sell out an arena. Still think they should be in the bottom 5? With all of this being said, my main point is that more people should be aware of Country Music as a whole. Do not just get stuck on the latest trends or rebels in the genre. Country Music has depth, tradition, and speaks to all sorts of people…. including women. We should respect and honor this. We should not be glad or even want the entire genre to be dominated by men.
Also, I am not over here saying that men in the genre do not deserve their place or that they are not good. They are great. They also deserve to be recognized and praised. I simply think that we need balance and different viewpoints from all sorts of people in the genre. Let’s not repeat tomato-gate for those of you who know what that means, and if you don’t, look it up. Not knowing that is part of the issue.
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