Miranda Lambert Had Her Band and Brad Paisley’s Team Incessantly Call Radio Stations to Get 1 of Her Songs to Chart

Miranda Lambert released the song “White Liar” in 2009, and Brad Paisley‘s team helped get the song more radio play. Because radio play is so important when it comes to prominence in country music, Lambert knew she needed a breakthrough to solidify her career. In an interview with Esquire, Lambert shared how Paisley’s team helped her achieve that.

Miranda Lambert felt ‘pigeonholed’ in country music

When Lambert’s career first started, she became known for revenge-themed songs that centered around breakups. Speaking with Esquire, Lambert admitted that she “was pigeonholed” in the industry.

“I was pigeonholed… like, ‘Oh, she’ll just burn your house down or shoot you,'” Lambert said.

After “White Liar” began to pick up steam on music charts and with critics, Lambert felt like the song could be her breakthrough.

“The town was watching,” Lambert told Esquire. “Like, ‘Is she ever gonna have a hit or she just gonna be one of those other kinds of artists?’ I was frustrated—at some point, I wanted to move up. I wanted to get the middle slot on tours instead of the opening slot, and ultimately headline, and in country music, radio is that vehicle.”

Brad Paisley’s team helped Miranda Lambert get more radio play

In 2010, Lambert opened Paisley’s American Saturday Night Tour. Around this time, Lambert knew she needed to have a hit song on radio charts.

According to Esquire, “She gathered her friends, family, band, and crew in her arena dressing room. She even roped in some of Paisley’s team as well as opener Justin Moore’s band and put the whole squad to work calling radio stations to request the track. She waited up till 3 a.m., when the new charts were released, and someone from her label called and said, ‘We did it.'”

Miranda Lambert recently won Entertainer of the Year

Since the success of “White Liar,” Lambert became a mainstream country artist. She has released multiple studio albums and won Grammy Awards, Academy of Country Music Awards, and CMT Music Awards.

At the 2022 ACM Awards, Lambert took home the top prize of the night, Entertainer of the Year. She was also nominated for Album of the Year, Female Artist of the Year, and Video of the Year. 

“To be honest, I had given up a little bit on winning Entertainer because females win so few and far between—and not just because of the female thing, but because all the winners pretty much deserve it,” Lambert told Esquire.

She continued, “I had a few years when I really felt like I worked my a** off, like I might have deserved it, but it’s not something you just win out of the blue. It’s your peers going, you did it big this year.”