In 2015 Female singers in Country Music are having a tough time getting radio play. This is news to absolutely no one who listens to radio.

Wondering when the last time was a solo female rose to No. 1? Fall 2012. That was when Carrie Underwood's "Blown Away" reached the top of the charts.

I know what you're thinking, "Miranda Lambert hasn't even has a No. 1 since then!?" I am too.

Well, when Keith Hill, a consultant for country radio, said that down there; the floodgates opened. And quickly:

If you want to make ratings in country radio, take females out,” Keith Hill tells the industry publication. “The reason is mainstream country radio generates more quarter hours from female listeners at the rate of 70 to 75 percent, and women like male artists. I’m basing that not only on music tests from over the years, but more than 300 client radio stations. The expectation is we’re principally a male format with a smaller female component. I’ve got about 40 music databases in front of me and the percentage of females in the one with the most is 19 percent. Trust me, I play great female records and we’ve got some right now; they’re just not the lettuce in our salad. The lettuce is Luke Bryan and Blake Shelton, Keith Urban and artists like that. The tomatoes of our salad are the females.

Here are a couple responses to Mr. Hill from the Twitter-verse:



Oh, and by the way, Sweeney's current single "My Bed" is poised to be her second straight No. 1 song in Texas. I don't want to jinx it, but if it does hit the top spot, it will mark the first time in Texas Music history that a female has had two consecutive No. 1's.

Finally, here's to Keith Hill. Who may single-handedly, albeit inadvertently, bring an end to the sausage party that has become country radio.

#SupportWomenInCountryMusic Get your "Breaking Up The Sausage Party" t shirt on my website www.SunnySweeney.com or at a show.

Posted by Sunny Sweeney on Tuesday, June 2, 2015

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