Move over, Kenny Chesney and Jason Aldean. There's a new crop of superstars rising up in country music, and they are all female.

National Public Radio has declared 2013 country music's 'Year of The Woman,' and rightfully so. Thanks in part to rule breakers like Miranda Lambert, whose outspoken songs like 'Gunpowder & Lead' and 'Mama's Broken Heart' have ushered in an entirely new wave of country music fans, females are rising to a new stratosphere of celebrity status previously held by their male counterparts. NPR also points to Lambert's trio Pistol Annies and her bandmate Ashley Monroe's solo album, 'Like a Rose,' as two important voices in the new wave of female empowerment in Nashville.

Not that Miranda can take all the credit for the rise of women in country music. Duos and trios with females at least sharing the lead, like Sugarland, Lady Antebellum, the Band Perry and Little Big Town, also deserve some of the credit, as well as innovative new artist Kacey Musgraves, whose first two singles ('Merry Go 'Round' and 'Blowin' Smoke') from her chart-topping album 'Same Trailer, Different Park' hint that she may be leading the way for an entirely new generation of female singers to break down any remaining gender barriers still held in country music.

Of course, other women have also contributed to the new era as well. Songwriter Brandy Clark, 'American Idol' runner-up Kree Harrison, Holly Williams and Caitlin Rose are just a few of the current list of women who are making sure their voices are heard.

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