Country music has a new conspiracy theory afoot! You would think Miranda Lambert would still get a lot love from different country music awards right? She's won them before, she's one of the biggest and most respected artists coming out of the genre. The charts still love her plenty so it's not exactly a lack of fan interest either. Sure, guys tend to dominate a lot of primary categories but she's been slowly taking a backseat to other women in the industry too.
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Not to mention, the music is actually good too. Postcards From Texas was good and The Marfa Tapes is one of the best country records of the 2020s. So what gives? Recently, a Reddit thread shows fans wondering the same thing. Why are the CMA and ACM Awards not granting Miranda with more awards lately?
The realistic answer is that there is a new crop of great female vocalist coming out of country. Lainey Wilson is currently the golden child but artists like Carly Pearce, Kelsea Ballerini, Megan Moroney, Ella Langley are formidable artists in their own rights. Someone has to play the loser and Miranda Lambert certainly holds the hefty resume to be able to afford these industry losses. However, these Redditors have their own ideas in mind.
Miranda Lambert Fans Theorize Why She's Not Winning More Awards
The most obvious theory is quite simple: blame the label. Lambert used to record under Sony Music Entertainment since her debut album Crazy Ex-Girlfriend in 2007. However, Postcards From Texas sees Miranda spread her wings under a different label, Republic Records. Consequently, one person believes they're short-changing her at the CMAs and ACM awards in comparison. "Her former record label pushed hard, spent a ton of money, and traded votes with other record labels to get the awards. Her new label is not doing as much," they write.
Additionally, one person says it's just not Miranda's time anymore. Between her and Carrie Underwood, those peak years as the hot commodities in country are over. As a result, someone like Lambert gets pushed to the side for newer acts just like the industry did for her in the past. "Because women turn 40 and the music industry puts them out to pasture lol. Miranda and Carrie ruled things for a long time - and are still selling out shows/making music/generally busy," they explain. "But they aren't the new shiny thing anymore. You're gonna see all of those nominations get transferred to Lainey, Ella, Megan, Kelsea, etc."
Of course, my favorite of all the theories: country music just isn't good anymore. It's all slop anyways, how could someone like Miranda even compete? This is tremendously lazy thinking and accounts for poor taste. It's also something that people were echoing even during country's peak years. How could you take that talking point seriously after a while? You feel how you want about the state of award shows and whether or not they matter. But to blame country music itself? Even Miranda Lambert would tell you to cut it out.
