When CMT.com recently sat down with the two stars in anticipation of next week’s 2018 CMT Artists of the Year celebration, the conversation quickly turned to female empowerment, the wave of change currently rolling through country music that is music to their ears. The night will honor both Schlapman and Fairchild along with five of their female peers and CMT Artist of a Lifetime Loretta Lynn live from Nashville on Oct. 17 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.