This week, Billboard pulled Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” from the Country Charts because it was not in tune with what country music is doing as a whole. Many stars have come out in support of Lil Nas X’s inclusion on the chart, including the “Achey Breaky Heart” himself, Billy Ray Cyrus.
A lot has been said about the racial disparities in country music, and how there are a couple country artists who have started to use hip hop elements in their own music it charts on the rap charts, but once a hip hop artist uses country elements in their song, it can’t chart on the country charts, and I encourage you to read those pieces.
But I want to talk about the state of country music as a whole. The Billboard Country Charts are not an accurate depiction of country music’s problem. For that, you need to look at the radio airplay charts. If you look at those charts, you will not find an artist of color, unless Darius Rucker has a really recent release, and only one woman in the top 50, and that is most likely Carrie Underwood. When Carrie Underwood isn’t getting much radioplay, that’s when it sticks out to people who don’t follow the day-to-day of country music that there is a problem.
This doesn’t mean that those artists don’t exist or are not successful. There is a smaller pool of artists of color in country music, so it is harder to make a statement about that aspect of the state of country music, but I encourage people to look out for them and support them. However, country women are currently killing it outside of country radio. Kacey Musgraves won Album of the Year at this year’s Grammy Awards and is commonly called a yeehaw queen. Maren Morris had one of the biggest songs of the year last year with “The Middle”, and her recently released album, Girl, charted at number 4 on the Billboard 200. Miranda Lambert continually releases albums to critical acclaim, both her solo work and her work with the all-female country supergroup, Pistol Annies. Carrie Underwood is one of the biggest selling stars in all of music. Yet they don’t get played on country radio.
So, while the debate over the country charts is a good one to have, it clearly does not mean you are unsuccessful if you don’t chart or get played on the radio. It’s up to the fans who listen, stream, and purchase the music and concert tickets. Keep talking about them too, because then maybe country radio programmers will shut up and listen.
For now, give the women of country some love with our Spotify playlist.
By Kerry Archbold