Maren Morris’ ‘Girl’ Tops Radio Chart, Snaps Female Drought
She's the first solo female to top the radio charts in years.
Maren Morris’ self-worth anthem “Girl” has just become her third No.1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay radio chart — snapping a lengthy drought for female artists in the process. “Girl” marks the first country radio chart topper by a solo female since way back in February of 2018 (Kelsea Ballerini recently earned a No.1 with her song “Miss Me More,” but appeared on a different chart).
The feat is certainly a milestone for Morris, but may be more important for her fellow country females in the quest for equitable industry support — and it wasn’t even the only big moment she helped make happen on that score. This past weekend (July 26-28), Morris and her all female country supergroup, the Highwomen (which also includes Brandi Carlile, Amanda Shires and Natalie Hemby), made their official debut at the historic Newport Folk Festival — performing alongside country’s original glass-ceiling breaker, the legendary Dolly Parton.
“I don’t know what to say except thank you,” Morris wrote on Instagram. “I won’t even wipe my tears because I’m proud of them and what this song has done. @thehighwomen made their debut and GIRL is the number 1 song in the country. We did it. 🥇”
Parton congratulated Morris from the festival stage, where the icon joined in as part of an all-female musical review curated by Carlile. Parton famously changed the game by breaking away from the norms of the ’60s to control her own music and headline her own concerts, and was the surprise highlight at Newport, stepping out to perform five songs that ended with her own version of a female power anthem, “9 to 5.”
View this post on InstagramDolly Parton to me: Congratulations on your number one song! Me: 💀
A post shared by Maren Morris (@marenmorris) on
Looking ahead, Morris will likely continue to challenge the status quo through her success. Her sold-out Girl: The World Tour continues through September, and she’ll hit the road with Miranda Lambert for the all-female Roadside Bars & Pink Guitars Tour starting October 3 in Lafayette, Louisiana.
