Now That Chely Wright is Out, Will Nashville Let Her Back In?

That's the question posed by the New York Times, which reminds us that the country world tends to be an unforgiving place where artists are generally not allowed to be that different--or at least not to flaunt their differences so freely.

But as the article also notes, Chely was an outsider to begin with. She only had one country hit, and that was years ago!

So it looks to me like her coming out got the woman more mainstream attention that anything she ever did creatively (not that being a lesbian isn't creative, blah blah blah).

And she's in good company when it comes to scandal-tinged country stars looking for Nashville lovin'.

As the article reminds us, The Dixie Chicks were rocked by one little anti-Dubya remark, which has left the two Chicks who didn't say that remark emerging as a non-political duo.

And Mindy McCready's career has been gussied down by her multitude of tabloid headlines, leading to her inevitable appearance on a rehab reality show.

Come on, Nashville. Before the next teardrop falls, how's about taking these small town girls back like an old pair of shoes?