It's long been a topic of debate in country music circles, and Carrie Underwood has officially thrown her opinion into the ring. The American Idol alum and superstar thinks country radio needs to be playing more female artists.

Underwood recently spoke out about the lack of female representation at country radio during an interview with the Women Want to Hear Women podcast.

Underwood pulled no punches when discussing the idea of "Women don't want to hear women." She says succinctly, "That’s B.S. Even when I was growing up, I wished there was more women on the radio. And I had a lot more than there are today. Think about all of the little girls that are sitting at home saying, ‘I want to be a country music singer.’"

"What do you tell them? What do you do?” notes Underwood. “How do you look at them and say, ‘Well, just work hard, sweetie, and you can do it.'"

Carrie Underwood's Pregnancy Reveal Was Totally Unexpected

Underwood was direct in explaining her point.

“I see so many girls out there busting their rear ends and so many guys out there ... it’s some new guy out there has a No. 1, and I’m like, ‘Good for you, that’s great, but who are you? What’s happening?’ And then these strong women who are super talented that totally deserve it are not getting the same opportunities. But how to change it? I don’t know. How do we change it?"

Underwood is doing her part by recruiting Maddie & Tae and Runaway June to open up for her Cry Pretty Tour 360 next spring. But, as she explains, "I’m not throwing anybody a bone by taking them out on tour with me. They deserve to be there and they’re gonna put on a great show, and I’m already proud of all that they’ve done."

"It’s good when women support women," she adds. "And I feel like the more we do of that and the more normal it is, why would I not want to take women out on the road with me?"

The star announced last month that she and husband Mike Fisher are expecting their second child together. She'll take time in between the release of her new album and the launch of her tour in 2019 to devote to her family and newborn baby (the couple have a son, Isaiah, who is 3).

Relive Carrie Underwood's Best Baby Bump Pictures:

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