"Girl in a Country Song" is a song recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

duo

Maddie & Tae Maddie & Tae are an American female country music duo composed of Maddie Font (née Marlow) and Tae Kerr (née Dye), both of whom are singers, songwriters, and guitarists. The duo was signed to the revived Dot Records in 2014. Their debut album, ...

, co-written with Aaron Scherz. It was released in July 2014 as the lead single from their debut studio album ''

Start Here ''Start Here'' is the debut studio album by American country duo Maddie & Tae. It was released on August 28, 2015 via Dot Records and Republic Nashville. The album, produced by Dann Huff and Aaron Scherz, features eleven tracks. Its release was ...

''. The song criticizes the "

bro-country Bro-country is a form of country pop originating in the 2010s, and is influenced by 21st-century hip hop, hard rock and electronica. Bro-country songs are often musically upbeat with lyrics about attractive young girls, the consumption of alcoho ...

" subgenre in contemporary country music, specifically in how women are portrayed by men, with lyrics containing references to a variety of popular recent country songs. "Girl in a Country Song" peaked at number one on the ''Billboard''

Country Airplay Country Airplay is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States since January 20, 1990. This chart lists the 60 most-listened-to records played on 150 mainstream country radio stations across the country as monitored ...

chart, making Maddie & Tae the first female duo to top that chart with their debut single since

The Wreckers The Wreckers were an American country music duo formed in 2005 by Michelle Branch and Jessica Harp, both of whom had solo recordings before the duo's foundation. In 2006, the duo released its debut album '' Stand Still, Look Pretty'', which produ ...

' "

Leave the Pieces "Leave the Pieces" is a song written by Jennifer Hanson and Billy Austin, and recorded by American country music duo The Wreckers for their debut album '' Stand Still, Look Pretty'' for which it served as lead single with a February 7, 2006, relea ...

" in 2006, and only the second in history. It also charted at numbers three and 54 on both the

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

and

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

charts, respectively. The song was certified Platinum by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA), and has sold 667,000 units in the United States as of September 2015. It achieved similar chart success in Canada, peaking at number five on the

Canada Country The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in '' Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...

chart and number 61 on the

Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. The Canadian Hot 100 was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007, and is currently the standard record chart in Canada; a n ...

chart. The accompanying music video for the song was directed by

TK McKamy TK McKamy is an American film director, screenwriter, and editor known for directing music videos. Thomas Knox McKamy III was born in Stone Mountain, Georgia Stone Mountain is a city in DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The population ...

Content

The song is a response to the contemporary "

" trend in country music, specifically pertaining to the way that top male stars portray women in their songs, and its lyrics contain references to a variety of popular recent country songs. Some specific songs include " Get Me Some of That" by

Thomas Rhett Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...

, "

Aw Naw "Aw Naw" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Chris Young. It was released in May 2013 as the first single from his fourth studio album, '' A.M.''. The song was written by Young, Chris DeStefano and Ashley Gorley. ...

" by Chris Young, "

Redneck Crazy ''Redneck Crazy'' is the debut studio album by American country music artist Tyler Farr. It was released on September 30, 2013 via Columbia Nashville. Reviews for the record were mixed, with critics giving note to the lyrical content having variou ...

" by

Tyler Farr Tyler Lynn Farr (born February 5, 1984) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Originally signed to BNA Records Farr released two singles for the label before it closed. He transferred to Columbia Records Nashville, releasing two alb ...

, "

My Kinda Party ''My Kinda Party'' is the fourth studio album released by American country music artist Jason Aldean. It was released on November 2, 2010 by Broken Bow Records. The songs were written by various songwriters including Neil Thrasher, Brantley Gilber ...

", "

Dirt Road Anthem "Dirt Road Anthem" is a country rap song written and sung by American singers Colt Ford and Brantley Gilbert first (who also wrote Aldean's hit "My Kinda Party"), each of whom recorded his own version of the song. Jason Aldean covered the song fo ...

" and "

Take a Little Ride "Take a Little Ride" is a song written by Dylan Altman, Rodney Clawson and Jim McCormick and recorded by American country music artist Jason Aldean. It was released on July 16, 2012, as the first single from his fifth studio album '' Night Train'' ...

" by

Jason Aldean Jason Aldean (born Jason Aldine Williams; February 28, 1977) is an American country music singer. Since 2005, he has been signed to BBR Music Group, Broken Bow Records, a record label for which he has released ten albums and 40 singles. His 2010 ...

, "

Boys 'Round Here "Boys 'Round Here" is a song written by Rhett Akins, Dallas Davidson, and Craig Wiseman and recorded by American country music artist Blake Shelton. The song is credited to "Blake Shelton with Pistol Annies and Friends", as it features myriad vocal ...

" by

Blake Shelton Blake Tollison Shelton (born June 18, 1976) is an American country music singer and television personality. In 2001, he made his debut with the single " Austin". The lead-off single from his self-titled debut album, "Austin" spent five weeks at ...

, and the stereotypical sugar shaker line, which was also included in the contemporary song " Get Your Shine On" by

Florida Georgia Line Florida Georgia Line is an American country music duo founded in 2010 by Tyler Hubbard of Georgia and Brian Kelley of Florida, both of whom are vocalists and songwriters. Their 2012 debut single " Cruise" broke two major sales records: it was ...

. The genesis of the song goes back to early 2014 when the three writers noted how marginalized women were in country music at the time. The song was written in 90 minutes.

Critical reception

Kevin John Coyne of ''Country Universe'' rated the single an "A", saying that "Maddie & Tae have written and recorded the antidote to something that ails country music right now, and thankfully, they’re not offering it up with any sugar to help that medicine go down."

Commercial performance

"Girl in a Country Song" debuted at number 58 on the

chart dated for the week ending July 19, 2014. After 23 weeks on the charts, it reached number one for the chart dated December 20, 2014, giving Maddie & Tae their first number one hit. It became the first debut single by a female duo to reach number one since

did it in 2006 with "

," and only the second in history. It would remain Maddie & Tae's only number one single until almost six years later, when they topped the chart again with " Die from a Broken Heart" in August 2020. The song was certified Gold by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

on November 17, 2014, and has sold 667,000 copies in the US as of September 2015.

Music video

directed the song's music video. It won Video of the Year at the 2015

Country Music Association The Country Music Association (CMA) was founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee. It originally consisted of 233 members and was the first trade organization formed to promote a music genre. The objectives of the organization are to guide and enha ...

awards.

Charts and certifications

Weekly chart

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

Maddie & Tae performance video
{{authority control 2014 songs 2014 debut singles Dot Records singles Maddie & Tae songs Music videos directed by TK McKamy Song recordings produced by Dann Huff Songs about country music Songs with feminist themes