We may be very frustrated with radio, and rightfully so, but I think it would be a mistake to underestimate its importance or relevance - especially while we continue to struggle with streaming. If we were hitting it out of the park with streaming, it would be much easier to ignore radio, but if we want Carrie's music to continue to be heard by large audiences and celebrated by mainstream, we should continue to root for radio success. I know it isn't a fair playing field for female artists, but it does matter to remaining relevant and sustaining a vibrant career. I believe that Carrie can still stretch herself artistically and produce material that resonates on radio. While more challenging than it was before, I believe she can continue to find a balance.
I agree. I think she can achieve that balance in her albums. (From a purely personal point of view, I think her first four singles were both among the best tracks on the album (and still among the best of her career), and did demonstrate that art and popularity can thrive together . I enjoyed CR, but have to say that the singles, despite a strong start with SS, for the most part, did less for me. PO, though, has been the only album era where I thought there was some real risk that relatively few songs overall were showing Carrie at her best potential. Since then, I think the album eras have steadily built up that reputation for thoughtful, musically varied, innovative and strongly themed songs. My reaction to the singles has tended to be rather mixed - some I felt were spot on, others I felt were weaker than many of the tracks left on the album - but I am more of an album fan, and much less focused on radio than many others in the fan base.)
Personal tastes, though are bound to vary. What Carrie has to do is continue striving for that balance that you mention - and I think we're lucky in the success she's had in both areas. Her consistency in achieving that is arguably greater than that of most of her contemporaries, male or female. And if the commentary that she receives sometimes tends to play down or overlook the care she puts into the artistic planning and delivery of her best songs, I think much of that is a side effect of the commercial success she's had. Some commentators see the latter, and don't pursue the need to look more fully into the former.
While I agree with Adam that radio is declining, and that its shortcomings may be a handicap to an artist wanting to show her best work - I also agree with you that Carrie's career path and the preferences of her fan base mean that she shouldn't give up on radio until she virtually has to (and I don't think that's the case yet).
(Coincidentally, Miranda Lambert has been discussing this issue in a couple of long interviews recently. I posted the links in her thread a few days ago, if anyone's interested - but basically she was admitting that she has difficulty in picking singles, and has always had patchy radio support, but that her fan base is not overly preoccupied with radio charts, and her career success has mainly rested on touring and albums. However, although those have given her consistent critical approval, she doesn't believe that is enough for long term genre memorable status - an artist needs both, and one is only half of the equation.)