Miranda Lambert says country music has embraced female artists and become more "balanced"

Zoom in: While talking to the New York Times, Lambert reflected on a multi-year stretch of her career when it felt like "there were no females at all" and she and Carrie Underwood where the only big female stars in the male-dominated genre.

• "I feel like we should get a ribbon for surviving that," Lambert told the New York Times' Popcast. "That was a hard time, honestly."

Flash forward: Lambert, who co-wrote and co-produced fellow star Ella Langley's monster hit "Choosin' Texas," credited changes in how fans consume music with shifting the landscape and creating "room for every damn body."

What she's saying: "All the voices can be heard, all the messages can be heard. You don't have to love them all, but at least there's a way to hear them."