Carrie Underwood Wants to Shut the Door on BS

The very first thing Carrie Underwood would like to do is get rid of the myth that women don’t want to hear country music from women because it’s just not true.

“I feel like shutting that door on [the idea] that women don’t want to hear women because that is BS,” Underwood told Elaina Smith on Westwood One’s Women Want to Hear Women podcast. The two had a long talk about why women don’t stand on the same kind of welcome mat that men do at country radio, and what can be done to turn things around.

And it sounds like this concern is not a new one for Underwood.

“Even when I was growing up, I wished there were more women on the radio, and I had a lot more than there are today.

“I think about all the little girls that are sitting at home saying, ’I want to be a country music singer.’ What do you tell them, you know? What do you do? How do you look at them and say, ’Well, just work hard, sweetie, and you can do it’ when that’s probably not the case right now,” she said.

She added that she sees so many women busting their rear ends, to no avail; likely because of all the men in the way. “I see so many guys out there, and some new guy has a No. 1 and I’m like, ’Well, good for you, that’s great, but who are you? Like what’s happening?’”

Underwood talked about how the strong women — who are super talented and who deserve the chance to be heard — just don’t get the same opportunities as men. She admits that she doesn’t know exactly how to change the gender bias, but she does know for a fact that women have women’s backs.

“Any time I hear some lady — some strong, awesome, talented woman on the radio with a great song — I’m like, ’Heck yeah,’” she said. “I don’t ever think like ’Aw man!’ It never enters my mind.”

Underwood’s upcoming studio album Cry Pretty (that she co-produced, by the way) will be released on September 14.