Celebrating Women’s History Month: Miranda Lambert

Miranda Lambert defied all conventional notions of how a country career should proceed. Following an adolescence where she alternated between singing and acting, she came to prominence not as the winner, but as a runner-up on the 2003 American Idol knock-off Nashville Star, a dubious stepping stone to stardom if ever there was one, but Lambert’s 2005 Kerosene obliterated any notion that she was a reality TV refugee. Filled with lithe, powerful, neo-traditional country songs, many penned by Lambert herself, Kerosene established the singer/songwriter as a commercial force to be reckoned with, while its 2007 sequel, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, pulled off the trick of turning her into a superstar while confirming she was a writer of considerable substance. From there, the hits piled up fast and furious -- most of them from her multi-platinum records Revolution, Four the Record, and Platinum, but some coming from her side project Pistol Annies -- and tabloid headlines started to flow after she married fellow country star Blake Shelton in 2011. By that point, she could weather the gossip because there was no mistaking Miranda Lambert as anything but a major figure in country music.

A single, “Me and Charlie Talking,” appeared in 2004, with her full-length debut, Kerosene, released in the spring of 2005. Lambert wrote or co-wrote 11 of the 12 songs on the album, including the title track, which made it to 16 on Billboard’s Country Singles chart on its way to eventual platinum certification. Kerosene the album also reached platinum status, but her 2007 sophomore set Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is where Lambert demonstrated her commercial muscle. Debuting at number one on the Billboard Country chart and six on Billboard’s Top 200, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend boasted two big hits in “Famous in a Small Town” and “Gunpowder & Lead,” the latter reaching seven on the Country chart on its way to double-platinum certification; “More Like Her” was also a hit, making its way to 17.

Released in September 2009, third album Revolution was her blockbuster -- her biggest seller containing her biggest hit singles. “The House That Built Me” became her first number one single -- it would be certified platinum twice over, whereas its predecessor, “White Liar,” went platinum and peaked at two -- and “Heart Like Mine” also reached the top; “Only Prettier” peaked at 12. Buttressed by this success, Lambert decided to venture into a side project called Pistol Annies with fellow singer/songwriters Ashley Monroe and Angaleena Presley. Their debut, Hell on Heels, appeared in August 2011 and went gold, partially on the strength of good reviews, partially on the strength of its platinum-selling title track; the album debuted at five on Billboard’s Top 200.

Here is her & Carrie Underwood’s hit song “Somethin’ Bad” from June 2014:

Other talented ladies who paved the way to make country music what it is today 👇

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Lee Ann Womack NASHVILLE, TN - AUGUST 24: Lee Ann Womack performs onstage during Skyville Live Presents a Tribute to Jerry Lee Lewis on August 24, 2017 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images for Skyville) (Rick Diamond)

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