It was a double blow in the stomach of two of the biggest stars of the country.Last fall, Luke Bryan Zac Brown said of
"That's My Kind of Night” , the " worst song I've ever heard .
" This winter, Carrie Underwood called country radio, saying, "Women really seem to get the short end.”Statistics do not lie: The Billboard chart country, Miranda Lambert and newcomer Danielle Bradbery are the
only women in the top 25. More than a dozen other men are songs about trucks, girls in tight clothes, tailgating, drinking and partying - or all of the above, as in
“That’s My Kind of Night”, which was to
No. 1 in September.
This new wave of meaningless party songs - nicknamed "bro - country " - has led some fans frustrated country to change stations.“I fit the stereotype of a country fan -
26 years old, single, a city girl and I like having fun with friends and listen to music," said Bethany Dorobiala of White Bear Lake, Minnesota, " But none of what they are playing
(on country radio) is something that interests me not want to go for a ride in a truck on a dirt road. Dislike to be sung by a".
However, Dorobiala not fit the new image of Nashville. In the past two years, a lot of men in the age group
18-34 prized changed to country radio. Bryan is their poster boy and the headliner of the country.
“Lucas is so nice," said Leslie Fram , senior vice president of
Country Music Television ( CMT ) . “He has the “it
“factor.”The younger guys have always come to the party at festivals country- and- camping. Now also in tune with the seasons of the country to hear Bryan, Jason Aldean
( whose sound is infused with hip- hop and heavy guitars) and Eric Church
( who brings a gritty rock edge ) ."Rock is dead," said program director Gregg Swedberg country station KEEY -FM Minneapolis, who also oversees the country's national programming by Clear Channel Media. "The greatest influx format
(country) came from youth has been
Top 40 and rock, especially - . All
(Twin Cities) pop stations in the past two years, which is 50 percent on the side of type. . "
At the same time, the percentage of female voices in country radio has been reduced drastically. Gone is the time when Faith Hill, Shania Twain, the Dixie Chicks, Reba McEntire, Martina McBride and Gretchen Wilson filled playLambert,
Underwood and Taylor Swift seem to be just regular women in the country - unless you count the occasional female voice heard in groups such as Lady Antebellum and the band Perry.
As a columnist for the trade publication Music Row, Robert K. Oermann listen to each album and single release Nashville labels. Cannot believe the domestic audience is so different from the pop sphere, where women - think Katy Perry, Beyoncé , Miley Cyrus and Lorde - dominate the charts .
“The idea that men do not want to hear the voice of women is nonsense," Oermann , who wrote the definitive book said " finding their voice
. Saga of Women in Country, 1800-2000 Music”One issue, he thinks, is that the industry of the country is essentially “programmed by men to women who think they are stupid. Country Music is much more than those 10 songs you hear over and over again on the radio. Moreover wide that is broader, deeper and is more intelligent. "
Oermann cited several singers - including Kacey Musgraves , Brandy Clark, Kellie Pickler , Ashley Monroe , Sheryl Crow and the trio Pistol Annies -
who released albums first class in 2013 , but gained some traction on the radio.
" It's a small business - dominated , but need not be," Musgrave , who received a sales boost last month when he performed at the Grammy and home prizes for best country album and song was said.
" I think women are stepping up to the plate and write songs that matter and use their brains instead of just your face. "Never known as an open cross, Underwood is making noise for lesser-known women in the country.
“Certainly there is no shortage of talented women out there who want so badly to get their fair chance in this business. But there seems to be only room for only a few," he told Billboard in January. "It seems that there are so many male singers out there that can be seen as similar, and there seems to be plenty of room for all of them.
"We see new male artists have their
debut single reach No. 1 on the charts, but it usually takes a woman much longer to gain momentum," he continued, noting that it was an exception due to his victory on
"American Idol" 2005.
“I do not think women can get away with partying, drinking beer , surf, truck type of music that many of the boys have recently come out with driving. "
