The lack of women on country radio is a subject on the minds of many country fans and artists. Recently, Sara Evans added her voice to the growing number of female country artists speaking out against sexism within the industry.
"I am, and have been for several years, devastated to see how the genre I grew up on and made my career on has changed. The obvious and most maddening change to me has been the blatant stonewalling of female artists," Evans wrote on Twitter. "One day I'm a country artist with hits on country radio and the next, I can't even get one spin on ANY of my new music."
Evans, who rose to fame with her 1998 No. 1 single "No Place That Far," also decried the "lack of creativity and lyrical sophistication" of many modern country songs.
? @billboard @women_want_more @changetheconvo @nextwomenofcoun #ChangeTheConversation #CMTNextWomen
?? https://t.co/DsA0HHrRTb pic.twitter.com/YojjnbyS6b
— Sara Evans (@saraevansmusic) October 25, 2018
Read More: Where Are the Women on Country Radio?
Evans recently spoke to Billboard about country radio's gender imbalance at the CMT Artists of the Year ceremony.
"I grew up on country music and I made my whole, entire career on country radio and contributed what I believe is a lot of great music to the country genre," Evans told Billboard. "So for my family to watch me sobbing at home because [radio] refused to play the single I released when I've worked my ass off and gone to visit every country programmer in America and I feel like I deserve a spot... they've grown up with it, watching it, and it's devastated all of us."
Evans independently released her ninth studio album Words in 2017.
The CMT Artists of the Year, which featured all women honorees, included a powerful moment when Karen Fairchild of Little Big Town read a list of female country artists, adding that the women "are there for you to support — and play on the radio if you want to."
There are currently only two solo female artists on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.
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