Kelly Clarkson Goes Off On Country Music: ‘Country Music Doesn’t Sound Country Anymore’

Kelly Clarkson is slamming the lack of more traditional-sounding songs being played on country radio stations and calling out the lack of females getting airplay compared to their male counterparts. Clarkson didn’t hold back in a new YouTube Q&A session to promote her upcoming talk show, called The Kelly Clarkson Show, where she seriously went in on the genre and those choosing not to play female artists.

Per Billboard, the talented mom of two hit out at country music and those calling the shots after she was asked if she knew what the genre “farm emo” meant.

Clarkson then replied by noting that “country music doesn’t sound country anymore,” before declaring, “So they’re making up terms to be like, ‘This is country.’ Country music is gone. I don’t know who’s making it, but there might be like four people.”

The star then referred to when she previously dipped her toe in the genre, having released tracks such as “Tie It Up” and the duet “Don’t You Wanna Stay” with Jason Aldean.

“I love that when I started to do country, they were like, ‘Oh you’re pop. You’re not country enough,'” The Voice coach recalled in the Q&A clip shared to The Kelly Clarkson Show‘s official YouTube page. “I’m like, ‘I’m sorry, let me show you this list of the Top 20,’ which by the way did not include one female.”

Clarkson then continued her candid chat as she delved deeper into the much-talked-about issue within country music over the past few years, which has seen less and less females seeing success at country radio.

“Y’all don’t play people with boobs either, it’s fine. ‘Oh you got boobs, you’re not a man, we can’t play you, get out of here.’ What happened?” Kelly asked, referring to the trend of deteriorating airplay for women in country.

“Do you want me to go off on how many women were so monumental in my [career]?” she then asked, before naming a slew of stars who were played a lot in the 1990s, including Reba McEntire, Dolly Parton and Shania Twain, all of whom she said had an influence on her career and musical style. “What is happening in country music? This is what’s happening. Y’all aren’t playing country music anymore.”

Kelly has voiced her love for country music multiple times in the past and has been known to cover songs from artists within the genre – such as Carrie Underwood’s “I Know You Won’t” and Miranda Lambert’s “Tin Man” – during her concerts. As reported by People, she also recently covered Dolly Parton’s classic “9 to 5” in a promo video for her new talk show.

Notably, several country stars and other industry professionals have highlighted the discrepancy over the past few years.

Seemingly in a bid to encourage females within the genre, this year’s CMA Awards – set to take place in November – is set to celebrate the women within the genre and, as The Inquisitr previously reported, will see Carrie Underwood host the show for the first time in more than a decade without her longtime co-host Brad Paisley.

Instead of co-hosting the show alongside Brad, the star will be joined by special guest hosts Dolly Parton and Reba McEntire.

The Kelly Clarkson Show is set to debut on NBC on September 9, while Kelly will also return as a coach on Season 17 of The Voice alongside Blake Shelton, John Legend, and Gwen Stefani on September 23, also on NBC.