“WE DESERVE A RIBBON FOR SURVIVING!” Miranda Lambert Opens Up About the Difficult Years She and Carrie Underwood Faced in Country Music
For years, Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood have stood among the most recognizable women in country music. Both built remarkable careers, earned the respect of audiences, and established themselves as artists with distinctive voices and strong personalities. Yet, behind their success lies a chapter of country music history that Miranda Lambert now says deserves a closer look.
In a recent appearance on The New York Times’ Popcast podcast, Lambert reflected on the challenges women faced when she first entered the industry in the early 2000s. Looking back at a period when female artists often struggled to find the same opportunities as their male counterparts, she suggested that she and Underwood deserved a little recognition simply for making it through.
“I feel like we should get a ribbon for surviving that,” Lambert said, describing the difficult years when opportunities for women in mainstream country music seemed especially limited.
Her remark was delivered with humor, but the experience behind it raises an important question about how the country music industry has changed — and how much determination it took for women to establish themselves during that era.
Miranda Lambert Refused to Fit Someone Else’s Image
When Lambert began building her career, she wanted audiences to recognize her for her songwriting, her musical identity, and the stories she brought to life through country music.
However, she recalled that the early 2000s placed considerable emphasis on the way female performers looked and presented themselves.
As she explained during the podcast, women were often encouraged to “dress sexy, be sexy, be a pretty girl.” For Lambert, that expectation did not fully reflect the artist she wanted to become.
She described herself as a “gun-totin’ redneck,” using the phrase to convey the unapologetic personality and country identity she wanted audiences to understand.
It was more than a colorful description. It reflected her determination to remain recognizable as herself rather than reshape her entire image to fit a narrow idea of what a successful female country singer should look like.
Lambert built her reputation around songs that explored complicated relationships, heartbreak, independence, and the realities of everyday life. Her musical personality was often bold and direct, with a willingness to embrace imperfections and difficult emotions.
She wanted her music to speak first — and she did not want her identity lost behind expectations about appearance.
That determination became an important part of the connection she developed with fans, particularly listeners who appreciated her straightforward storytelling and refusal to hide the rougher edges of her personality.
The Years When Female Voices Were Scarce
Lambert’s reflections became especially striking when she turned to the country music landscape of the following decade.
She recalled a period around the 2010s when, in her view, there were remarkably few prominent women breaking through alongside the many male artists receiving attention.
“Carrie Underwood and I made it through pretty much a solid, at least, seven years of only guy artists coming out of country music,” Lambert explained.
Her words captured a frustration that went beyond individual success. Even when women had talent, loyal audiences, and successful recordings, the opportunities available to them did not always appear equal.
For Lambert and Underwood, navigating that environment meant continuing to record, perform, and build their audiences while female representation in mainstream country music remained a concern.
Underwood, who rose to national prominence after winning American Idol in 2005, developed a powerful career of her own, combining vocal strength with emotionally expressive performances. Lambert, meanwhile, became known for her distinctive songwriting, fearless delivery, and deeply personal approach to country storytelling.
They followed different creative paths, but both demonstrated that women could sustain major careers without abandoning their individual musical identities.
Lambert’s observation also helps explain why their recent opportunities to connect as performers have felt particularly meaningful.
Two Successful Artists Who Rarely Shared the Same Stage
One surprising detail from Lambert’s account was that, despite their standing in country music, she and Underwood did not regularly attend each other’s shows during the years when female performers were relatively scarce.
Lambert recalled that they had only recently attended each other’s Las Vegas residencies, describing the experience as a special opportunity to appreciate one another’s work.
She explained that, for a long time, there had been so few women in similar positions that they were not regularly appearing on the same shows or touring lineups.
That detail adds another dimension to her comments. Their careers were not simply individual journeys toward fame; they unfolded within an industry where the limited number of prominent female performers could also reduce opportunities for them to share stages and celebrate their achievements together.
Their eventual visits to each other’s residencies offered a chance to connect not only as established stars, but also as artists who understood something about the pressures of their shared professional experience.
Sometimes, the strongest understanding comes from people who have faced similar challenges, even when their musical styles are different.
A Country Music Landscape That Has Changed
Lambert also expressed appreciation for the direction she believes country music has taken. She described the current environment as more balanced and suggested that changes in how audiences discover and consume music have helped create more room for different voices.
Streaming platforms and social media have changed how artists introduce their work to listeners. Musicians can now reach audiences through more routes than traditional radio alone, although success still requires talent, persistence, and the ability to connect with listeners.
For emerging female artists, a wider range of opportunities can mean more freedom to develop their own identities rather than fit a single mold.
Lambert’s experience offers a reminder that progress does not happen automatically. It grows through the efforts of artists who continue creating, performing, and insisting that their work deserves to be heard.
Her story also encourages a broader appreciation of the women who helped keep female perspectives visible in country music during periods when opportunities appeared limited.
More Than a Ribbon
Miranda Lambert’s suggestion that she and Carrie Underwood deserve a ribbon was lighthearted, but the sentiment behind it was serious.
Their achievements were built through years of work, personal expression, and persistence in an industry that Lambert remembers as particularly difficult for women at certain points in her career.
Both singers found ways to connect with audiences while remaining distinct artists. Neither needed to sound exactly like the other, and their success demonstrated that country music could accommodate different personalities, approaches to songwriting, and styles of performance.
For longtime country fans, Lambert’s reflections offer an opportunity to look back at how the genre has evolved. For younger listeners, they provide a glimpse into the challenges that helped shape the careers of two of its most recognizable female stars.
Ultimately, the story is not simply about who received radio attention or who appeared on a particular concert lineup. It is about the importance of giving talented artists room to be themselves — and allowing their music to reach the people who need to hear it.
Lambert and Underwood have already earned recognition through their remarkable careers. But as Miranda’s candid remarks remind us, the journey behind that success deserves attention, too.
And perhaps that is the real meaning of her playful proposal: after years of navigating an uneven landscape, two women who helped keep their voices heard have every reason to look back with pride — and to celebrate how far country music has come.