On July 2, 2015, Little Big Town were in the middle of a record-breaking 13-week run at the top of the Hot Country Songs chart with “Girl Crush.” The single crossed over to the Hot 100, where it peaked at No. 18. It has since been certified 7x Platinum. Its first certification came roughly six months after its release. However, the lyrics upset some listeners, who got it pulled from radio stations across the United States.
“Girl Crush” was popular with listeners and sold more than a million copies within six months. It was also one of the most-played songs on country radio in 2015. As a result, it reached No. 3 on the Country Airplay chart. It likely could have made it to the top of the airplay chart if some listeners hadn’t called their local radio stations to complain.
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Because Karen Fairchild is singing about having a “girl crush” and wanting to taste another woman’s lips because they taste like her lover, some believed it was a song about unrequited lesbian love. As a result, they called their local stations to complain. In response, many stations removed the song from rotation.
That’s how the story goes, at least. However, the supposed outrage over the song may have been exaggerated.
Was Little Big Town’s Big Hit Really That Controversial?
As Little Big Town climbed the chart with “Girl Crush,” headlines claiming that listeners were complaining about the song’s lesbian themes popped up everywhere. The Washington Post, Fox News, and other outlets weighed in on the controversy. Then, Billboard looked into it.
According to the report, a user on a country music forum claimed to be a music director at a Texas-based country radio station. In their post, they claimed that several listeners called to complain about the station “promoting the gay agenda.” As a result, the station played the song less frequently. This is seemingly the spark that spread across entertainment media like wildfire.
After the high-profile headlines hit the internet, Billboard contacted a dozen country radio programmers to ask about their listeners’ reactions to the Little Big Town hit. Some said they had received some minor complaints, but were able to explain the song’s actual meaning–it’s about jealousy–and de-escalate things. Furthermore, they found that the song played on 139 of the 145 country stations that report their plays to Nielsen Music.
Big Frank Edwards, program director for the Corpus Christi, Texas-based KRYS, shared his opinion about the single. “I’m a narrow-minded, conservative, eighth-generation Texan, and I think the song is fine,” he told the publication.
Capitol Records Made Them Explain the Song
Whether the outrage over “Girl Crush” was exaggerated or not, Capitol Records had Little Big Town record a “behind the scenes” video for the track. In the short clip, the group explains the meaning behind the song and discusses the process of recording it.
“This woman is just lookin’ at the woman her man left her for and wondering, ‘What does she have that I don’t have? What am I missing, what is it that I can’t give you that she’s giving you?” Kimberly Schlapman explained in the clip.
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