Nashvilles Female Stars: Scandals and Rankings Revealed!

The world of country music has always been a boys' club, and the trend has seemingly continued with  and Jelly Roll storming the charts. 

But plenty of Gen Z and millennial women are taking over Nashville, too. These rising female country stars, in the Daily Mail's definitive ranking, are splitting off from the mainstream with their edgy looks, open lyrics and pop inspiration.

In the past, country music has often consisted of lyrics about beer, trucks and ladies, but these young women artists are opening up about their mental health, sexuality and personal struggles in their chart-topping singles.

Now, the industry is no longer centered on all-stars like Tim McGraw and , although they will always be Nashville royalty.

Instead, it is all about the women of Nashville. Musicians like Dasha, Megan Moroney and Ella Langley are selling out arenas and getting massive airplay. But, there are also stories of messy love triangles, online backlash and even rumors of dating newly-single adding to the intrigue.

Now, the Daily Mail ranks who comes out on top and who falls to the bottom of Nashville's rising Gen Z and millennial female country stars.

THE A-LIST

MEGAN MORONEY, 28, cemented herself as a country A-lister after she took home the CMA trophy for best artist. Moroney has been making waves ever since, and is famous for blending pop and country while being lyrically vulnerable. 

The self-proclaimed 'emo cowgirl,' who has amassed a whopping three million  followers for her sassy videos, has been steadily climbing the charts ever since she graduated from the University of Georgia. The former sorority girl, who has been compared to Taylor Swift, has also been linked to fellow country stars Morgan Wallen and Riley Green. 

Moroney appeared to be embroiled in a with Green and rising star ELLA LANGLEY. The two were publicly pitted against each other after speculation rose when Green, 37, Langley's frequent collaborator, was spotted vacationing with Moroney after previously sparking romance speculation rumors with Langley, 26. Now, the two A-listers are competing for number one, as they became the first pair of women in country to top the US albums and singles charts.

DASHA, 26, went mega-viral on TikTok with her hit single Austin (Boots Stop Workin’), showing how country artists are now reaching their fans personally with social media. Dasha's rise has been meteoric ever since, as she became the first solo female country artist since Taylor Swift’s Love Story to surpass one billion streams on a single track.  

The California-born singer told the Daily Mail that she feels like 'if you're doing something different, there's always going to be some type of pushback, especially that I am a female in a male dominated space.' Dasha, born Anna Dasha Novotny, said she is 'coming in as a pop country girly [and] kind of breaking the mold for women in the genre' which is 'naturally going to p**s a lot of people off'. 

The Dirty Blonde songstress said she's already experienced backlash online, and said she 'feels like a lot of people love hiding behind their screens.'

While Dasha 'sees how country music is kind of a boys' club,' she has forged friendships with other up-and-coming artists like Moroney and Kelsea Ballerini, 32, which she said has helped 'open so many doors for me.' She believes because it is considered a male dominated space, the women in the industry stick together and has felt 'nothing but support from a lot of the women.'

'We're kind of underrepresented as women in this industry,' Dasha admitted, saying it has caused them to 'band together.' 

Dasha, 26, also sees how Gen Z women are rewriting the rules lyrically, saying it's not 'all daisies and roses and amazing, like we talk about some real s***,' which is what 'country music's all about.' 

THE B-LIST

On the B-list, there are plenty of rising stars who are surging their way to the top.

One boundary-breaking artist who's smashing down the walls of the boys' club? Kentucky-born singer/songwriter TANNER ADELL, 29, who was featured on Beyonce's country track Blackbiird. The former Mormon is not talking trucks and beer. Instead, she is grappling with religious trauma and her adoption experience. 

MEGAN GOLDEN has been playing on Broadway in Nashville since 2019, telling the Daily Mail she has had 'a front-row seat to how the scene has evolved, especially for female artists.' She says there is excitement over the rise of young female artists but admitted that it has also been a 'slow adjustment.' 

Golden, 30, feels 'if you put all the newly released male songs next to each other, it's far more difficult to distinguish who the artist would be than for the females,' who all have 'have their own style of music.'

The up-and-coming female singers don't just have their own sounds - they have their own aesthetic, with Golden musing that 'it appears you need a full branding whereas it's a little easier to just follow the mold as a man.' 

'Meanwhile, many male performers can show up in jeans and a T-shirt without that same level of scrutiny.' 

LAKELIN LEMMINGS, 19, has been recording in Nashville since she was a tween. The West Tennessee native has since amassed 121,000 TikTok followers who compare her sound to superstar Lainey Wilson. 

Lemmings told the Daily Mail she believes young female singers are 'talking a lot more about what it’s like to be a woman in this industry,' referencing both Ballerini and Moroney, who have songs that 'open the curtain a little bit on what happens behind the scenes in this industry.' 

Lemmings, who has been on a radio tour for the last month, thinks the country scene has 'always been a women’s club but the boys just got all the credit.' 

THE C-LIST 

WILLOW AVALON, 27, released her first album, Southern Belle Raisin' Hell, in 2025. The Georgia-born singer sounds like an old school country artist, often yodeling on TikTok to attract fans. One person she attracted? Criminal Minds actor Matthew Gray Gubler, who she was spotted putting on the PDA with at a London Zach Bryan concert. 

Avalon is known for her cheeky lyrics, often breaking the country mold by singing about topics like sex and her challenging upbringing. In her song The News, she offers political commentary, singing about 'politicians feeding us lies' and the treatment of women in the world. 

Florida-born singer/songwriter KARLEY SCOTT COLLINS, 26, started her career as a sitcom star and has since become one to watch with her debut album, flight risk. With catchy songs like Cowboy Sh!t, Collins is subtly poking fun at old school country tropes and seems dedicated to turning the genre on its head.

Like all great country artists, her rise has not been without personal controversy. She hit back against  she was dating Keith Urban, 58, after his split from Nicole Kidman, sharing a photo of the news story and calling it 'ridiculous' and 'untrue.' 

LILY ROSE, 32, is breaking barriers as an openly gay country singer based in Nashville. Rose married her wife in 2023 and went on to release her debut album I Know What I Want in October 2025. 

The Atlanta native has been accepted by the country scene, opening for Sam Hunt and Shania Twain. 

JESSIE MURPH, the 20-year-old Blue Strips singer, has become famous for courting controversy, whether it is bringing a pig as her date on the or causing mass outrage after encouraging women to 'give up rights' and 'take a slap' in a  talk show appearance. 

Murph scandalized her audience when she released the song 1965 in July, singing, 'I think I'd give up a few rights, if you would just love me like it’s 1965.' 

The shock music video featured a graphic sex scene, causing many conservative country fans to turn on her. 

As these buzzy women continue to climb on the charts - and often edge out their male counterparts - they are beginning to chip away at what has long been a boys' club in Nashville.