© 2026 ABC News

\"When we wrote it and it got played around town, the reaction was, 'Oh my God, this is our favorite song we've heard in a long time' and 'Thank you so much for writing such a great song,'\" Rose told ABC News. \"I think the negativity just came from a few places and that's what got out.\"

She continued, \"I really think on the whole, it's been more positive ... but all around, we are hearing more of the positive. I'm going to focus on the tons of people who really love the song.\"

http://t.co/clj8CrgUJs #GirlCrush pic.twitter.com/Rr7xXOjH1Y

— Little Big Town (@littlebigtown) March 26, 2015

In the song, lyrics from a woman saying \"I want to taste your lips\" to another woman, who is now dating her ex-boyfriend, drew attention.

But Karen Fairchild of Little Big Town told Bobby Bones, a national country radio host, that the song is about a jealous ex, \"not about a lesbian relationship.\"

Rose agrees.

\"We just wrote a song,\" she said. \"We fell on the idea, started writing it and just kind of wrote what came out,\" adding that she and her writing partners, Lori McKenna and Hillary Lindsey, were not being calculating in any way.

\"It just hit a nerve with people,\" she added. \"I don't think it has anything to do with a hidden agenda, it was just about a girl who wants to be the girl that's with the guy ... The hook turns around and realize the girl wants the guy ...everybody is not going to love everything.\"

With this said, Rose said for the most part, country radio is behind the song.

Wow!! This is amazing. Thanks to all the stations playing it and all the fans for the love!!! #GirlCrush

Posted by Little Big Town on Thursday, March 26, 2015

Fairchild told ABC News that she didn't even need to hear the entire song before she said to Rose and her writing partners, \"Can we please have this song?'\"

\"They freaked,\" Rose said of the band's reaction when they first heard \"Girl Crush.\"

With a story like this and reports that Country music maybe wasn't ready for a song about a girl kissing another girl, Rose couldn't disagree more.

\"I think that country has a lot of fans and listens to their fans,\" she said. \"It's more of a family. I think country, I think we are very progressive. This is just a couple of places, where it may have upset someone. And I would never want to do that and Little Big Town would never do that.\"

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