When Little Big Town introduced their latest album, Nightfall, with “The Daughters,” they knew they were taking a stand. The song, written by band member Karen Fairchild, along with Ashley Ray and Sean McConnell, spoke out about the disparity between men and women, an uncommon theme especially in country music. The song barely cracked the Top 30 before it stalled at radio, but did earn Little Big Town a Grammy Award nomination, for Best Country Duo/Group Performance, a welcome accolade in spite of the song’s lack of commercial success.
“For that song, that message be recognized, and not only just by the Grammys but the world stage, I think that’s just, that is a sweet victory,” Phillip Sweet shared with PopCulture.com and other media. “It’s such a beautiful message about those double standards we still seem to be putting on the daughters, and hopefully this message just keeps reminding us that we need to shake that off, and for the next generation they won’t have to have this tired conversation anymore.”
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“It just proves that there’s still work to be done,” continued Fairchild. “Equal play, equal pay. Just the treatment for the daughters. That’s why that was proposed, and kind of a question or a commentary on society. It’s incredible that the song is taking us to the Grammys. I mean, I could have only hoped that when we wrote it. It’s nice just to see the feedback from people. Even in the shows, you just see girls, they feel so understood on that song. And that’s the whole intention of it.”
While the lack of radio play for “The Daughters” was disappointing, the quartet, which also includes Kimberly Schlapman and Jimi Westbrook, knew that the content might be disconcerting for some, although they likely never predicted how misconstrued the song’s message would become.
“The Daughters’ was an easy one for people to misunderstand,” Fairchild told The Tennessean. “We see the mean tweets. I mean stuff like, ‘You’re trying to say there’s no God for the daughters.’ That’s not what we’re saying. My goal is, ‘Can we just not desire to misunderstand each other?’ People are scared of things that aren’t what they’re used to. But it’s OK. ‘The Daughters’ did exactly what it needed to do. It continues this conversation of inequality.”
The 2020 Grammy Awards will air live from the Staples Center on Sunday, Jan. 26, at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.
Photo Credit: Getty / David Crotty
