Trisha Yearwood says women are ‘getting the raw end of the deal’ on country radio

She said people need to take action ― not just talk ― to make some real change. “Everybody says, ‘This is what we want.’ But you gotta really do it,” she said.

Still, Yearwood was thrilled to see Musgraves swoop up three honors at the Grammys: album of the year for “Golden Hour,” best country song for “Space Cowboy” and best country solo performance for “Butterflies.”

“Her album was one that she purely made because she’s saying, ‘I’m an artist. This is what I want to say.’ I don’t think she was concerned about all the things that come up after you make the record. We have to be. We’re marketing. We want to sell records,” Yearwood said. “But if you’re going to call yourself an artist, your first love, your first priority has to be making sure you take care of that music and do what you feel in your heart and you hope you’re going to connect with somebody out there. … So I think that’s what Kacey did with the record, and I think that’s why she’s being recognized. People can tell when you follow your heart.”

Follow her heart is something Yearwood has aimed to do since the start of her career. She landed her first No. 1 country single in 1991 with “She’s in Love With the Boy” and has been a force on the country music scene ever since. These days, though, she doesn’t try to put too much pressure on herself. She said she has Garth Brooks to thank for that.

“I have to credit my husband with that because I am competitive,” Yearwood revealed. “I’m always analyzing myself and my career and everything I’m doing. And he’s the one who said, ‘You need to realize you don’t have to prove anything to anybody. Just do you.’ And that’s what I needed to hear. … It doesn’t mean you don’t want those things. I want to have a No. 1 record on the radio. I want to sell records. I want to be successful currently. I don’t want to be just known for what I did and what I’ve done. But at the same time, I’m good.”

Good enough that she just released an album mostly of songs recorded by Frank Sinatra, one of her musical heroes. Called “Let’s Be Frank,” the collection finds her doing versions of standards, including “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” and “Come Fly With Me.” It is her first full-length release since 2007 ― and it won’t be her last. She recently recorded a country album featuring a batch of new songs largely written or co-written by women.

“I’m not chasing anything. I’m not trying to be some trendy things. I think when you hear this record, you’ll go, ‘Oh, this is Trisha,’” she said about the album, expected out this fall. “I don’t know if it’s the freedom of being 54 and life is too short. I’m just going to have fun and do what I want to do.”

PHOTOS: Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood's Malibu home