NEWSMiranda Lambert Says She and Carrie Underwood Deserve a 'Ribbon' for Surviving Country's Male-Dominated Era
Miranda Lambert said she and Carrie Underwood have earned some recognition for making it through a lopsided stretch in country music.
Oct. 8 2026, Published 3:01 p.m. ET
Miranda Lambert is reflecting on what it was like to be one of country music's few female headliners.
A 'Ribbon' for Making It Through
Carrie Underwood's 'American Idol' win in 2005 launched her into a genre where few women were getting through the door.
Appearing on The New York Times' "Popcast" on Thursday, October 1, the 42-year-old singer told hosts Jon Caramanica and Joe Coscarelli that she and Carrie Underwood, 43, deserve to "get a ribbon for surviving" a tough stretch. Lambert called it a genuinely hard time.
Songs Over Image
Miranda Lambert said she set out in the early 2000s to be known for her songs rather than her image.
Lambert said she arrived in Nashville in the early 2000s determined to be known for her songwriting rather than her looks, at a time when the industry leaned heavily on glamour.
By the 2010s, the wave of women who had debuted alongside her had thinned out, and only a handful broke through.
Lambert estimated that she and Underwood, who won American Idol in 2005, watched "at least seven years" go by with almost nothing but male newcomers.
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A Lonely Spot at the Top
Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood were so often the only women on the scene that they rarely performed on the same shows.
The imbalance took a personal toll.
Lambert said she didn't have a female peer who had lived through the same highs and lows to call when she needed one.
She and Underwood rarely performed on the same shows. The two only caught each other's Las Vegas residencies about three years ago.
“You know why? There were only two girls for so long. We weren’t playing the same shows ever.” Lambert said. “It was kind of crazy that just three years ago, we finally saw each other’s show for the first time,”
Lambert described the experience as a bonding moment and praised Underwood's performance.
More Room Now
Miranda Lambert hopes to give younger women in country the guidance she wishes she'd had.
Lambert sees a very different picture today and credits streaming and social media with giving more artists a path to listeners. She said the power now sits with fans instead of a handful of gatekeepers. She hopes to be the mentor younger women coming up in country never had and she's trying to give them the advice and support she wishes she'd received.
“You don’t really know how to answer those questions or give advice if you didn’t actually live it,” Lambert said.
Lambert's country-disco album, Crisco, was released Friday, October 2.
