Why Gretchen Wilson Says Carrie Underwood Scared “Every Woman in Country Music”

This year, Gretchen Wilson celebrated 20 years of her breakout hit “Redneck Woman.” The Pocahontas, Illinois native embodied the song’s spirit: brash, proud, unapologetically rough around the edges. “Redneck Woman” spent five weeks atop the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart—a milestone for women like Wilson who felt underrepresented in mainstream country. It seemed as though the “redneck woman” was having a cultural moment—and then along came Carrie Underwood. The “When I Think About Cheatin’” singer recently got candid on her chart battle with the American Idol champion.

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Gretchen Wilson, Terri Clark On the Competitive World of Female Country Singers

Country radio was a cutthroat place back in the ’90s and early aughts, especially for female artists. Terri Clark recently recalled hearing Gretchen Wilson’s “Redneck Woman” for the first time.

“That one kind of got me a little bit. I’m like, ‘Damn it,’” said the “Poor Poor Pitiful Me” hitmaker during a recent appearance on Taste of Country Nights. “I love Gretchen, and really happy for her, but that was kind of a, ‘Woo, wow. I better strap on my seatbelt.’”

Gretchen Wilson can empathize. “I had those moments, you know, whenever Carrie Underwood came along,” she said during her own Taste of Country Nights appearance. “Oh, boy. You know.”

Wilson Says Carrie Underwood Made Her Want to “Get Rougher”

Just 18 months after “Redneck Woman,” Underwood dropped her debut single “Jesus, Take The Wheel.” The track became the first of the “Cowboy Casanova” singer’s record-breaking 15 No. 1 singles on the the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.

“I think every woman in country music probably had a little bit of fear when that voice came out,” Gretchen Wilson said. “I mean, she’s also a force to be reckoned with — just, powerhouse of a singer.”

[RELATED: Gretchen Wilson Releases “Little Miss Runner-Up” Her First New Single Since 2018]

Still, the GRAMMY winner didn’t lose too much sleep. Instead, she decided to lean even further into her own sound.

“I don’t know that I was very fearful, just because we’re so different,” Wilson said. “I felt like, ‘Okay, she’s gonna own that slicker side of country music.’ And that just kind of made me want to get rougher.”