Culture February 16, 2021

The Chicks reflect on how freeing it was to change their name

WATCH: Woman's powerful post on being a black country music fan goes viral

The Chicks left no stone unturned during a recent interview on Apple Music's Essentials Radio -- especially when it came to discussing why they walked away from being called The Dixie Chicks.

The "Landslide" singers -- Natalie Maines plus sisters Emily Strayer and Martie Maguire -- changed the group's name in June 2020, during the height of the Black Lives Matter protests.

MORE: The Chicks drop 'Dixie' from their name, unveil fiery new 'March March' single

Maguire reflected on facing pressure over the past several years to drop "Dixie" from the name due to the word's affiliation with the antebellum South.

Jack Thomas/WireImage via Getty Images
Martie Maguire of The Dixie Chicks perform at Rod Laver Arena on April 1, 2017, in Melbourne, Australia.

"That needed to happen for quite some time," she said. "With George Floyd's murder and everything that started happening with Black Lives Matter, we were like, 'Oh my God. We got to do this and do this as soon as possible.'"

MORE: The Chicks say they made the decision not to chase country radio out of logic, not anger

Maguire revealed how they arrived at "The Chicks," saying the name came up during a virtual brainstorming session.

"We had a really funny management Zoom call where we were throwing out ridiculous names and it just came back to... 'OK, the most obvious thing is The Chicks,'" she revealed, noting they contacted their legal team to get the name change started once everyone was in agreement over their new moniker.

MORE: Taylor Swift says The Chicks taught her 'female rage can be a bonding experience'

Maines added that rebranding the 12-time Grammy-winning band was unexpectedly freeing for them, adding, "You didn't even know you were carrying that weight until it was gone."

With a laugh, Maines also noted that changing their name to The Chicks was an eye-opening experience for them, telling Apple Music, "That's a way cooler name. What [were] we so scared of?"