Miranda Lambert photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.

It’s rare when the taste of music critics lines up with what the general public likes, but in the case of Miranda Lambert, both factions seem to be in agreement.

Earlier this month, “White Liar” was named the Best Country Single of 2009 in the Nashville Scene Country Music Critics Poll. This week, the song went to No. 1 on the USA Today Mediabase country chart, indicating it’s the song heard most by country fans on the radio. Stations would not play it so heavily if it weren’t, in fact, one of the public’s favorite songs of the moment.

It’s the first chart-topping hit for Miranda, who sent out a photo over Twitter of her enjoying the moment with champagne and a cigar.

“Celebrating Number 1!,” she tweeted. “First class all the way!”

While it might be a mainstream success, the song actually owes its tone to a country subgenre.

“I was listenin’ to a lot of bluegrass at the time that I wrote ‘White Liar,’” Miranda says. “That kind of a vibe was kind of what I was into at the moment, and so ‘White Liar’ just sort of happened out of that.”

It’s not the only song working for Miranda at the moment. The previous single, “Dead Flowers,” is in the running for a Grammy award Sunday for Best Country Vocal by a Female. Her competition includes Martina McBride’s “I Just Call You Mine,” Taylor Swift’s “White Horse,” Carrie Underwood’s “Just A Dream” and Lee Ann Womack’s “Solitary Thinkin’.”

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