Kalie Shorr’s ‘Fight Like a Girl’ Video Salutes ‘Suffragette’ Movie

Kalie Shorr has been a leader in the fast-rising #LetTheGirlsPlay movement, so it’s fitting she’d write and record a theme song as her new single. In this just-released music video for “Fight Like a Girl,” the Portland, Maine native salutes struggles women fought through a century ago.

Shorr’s contemporary country message of equality was inspired by the very recent struggles women in country music have had. For nearly two years, the Song Suffragettes singer and songwriter round has taken the stage at the Listening Room in Nashville. Shorr’s been there the entire time, leading a response to the dearth of women having success as artists and songwriters. When radio consultant Keith Hill suggested songs by women should only make up a small percentage of radio playlists (#Saladgate), he planted a seed for this fiery country rocker.

"I'm perfume sweet and whiskey strong / I damn sure ain't no underdog," Shorr sings during the chorus. "You say I can't, well darling watch me / You can't stop me because I fight like a girl."

In the video, one sees Shorr alternating between guitar and mandolin as scenes from the movie Suffragette wiz past. The 2015 film stars Carey Mulligan, Anne-Marie Duff and Helena Bonham Carter as leaders of the early feminist movement. It was set in early 20th century England and released in theaters in October.

Shorr moved to Nashville at age 18 and took a job at a hot dog stand on Broadway to pay bills. Her work ethic drives her determination to overcome all obstacles. “My mom was a single mom and it was always like, ‘Don’t let circumstances hold you back, because you can accomplish what you want to if you put in hard work,’” she told Taste of Country in May.

“So I worked really hard in school. I worked really hard on my SATs and I worked really hard in music just because I didn’t have the hundreds of thousands of dollars that some people have to put into their kids, to develop them.”

Her first single from an upcoming mix tape isn’t a pity party, and it’s not preachy. “Fight Like a Girl” is an empowerment song, one that recognizes each person’s own role in achieving dreams.

“I think right now people are realizing that you have to do something different,” she says. “You have to show who you are, not who radio or record labels want you to be. And I think that’s why Mickey Guyton and Kelsea Ballerini and Kacey Musgraves and Brandy Clark … all the girls who are hard hitting right now, I think that’s why they’re working, because they’re not afraid to be who they are.”

Look for “Fight Like a Girl” to hit iTunes in January, and look for her crowd funded mix tape in the spring. You can find Shorr at her website and catch her most Monday nights at the Listening Room, explaining why it’s truly time to #LetTheGirlsPlay.

Kalie Shorr’s ‘Fight Like a Girl’ Video Salutes ‘Suffragette’ Movie [Watch]