This is a big week for Lainey Wilson.
The country music artist and reigning Country Music Association Entertainer of the Year was on a whirlwind tour of New York for a Wrangler event and an appearance on “The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon.”
While she was in town, she also learned that she was nominated for four CMA Awards this year: Entertainer of the Year, Single of the Year for “Watermelon Moonshine,” and Female Vocalist and Music Video for “Wildflowers and Wild Horses.”
While in Manhattan previewing her Wrangler collection, which will be released on September 25, Wilson also found time to attend her first fashion show: Carolina Herrera.
“It was really a full-circle moment for me,” she said. “I wore Carolina Herrera to the CMAs last year when I won Entertainer of the Year, and then I was at her show when the news broke.”
Wilson spent more than a decade trying to make it. For three years, he lived in a mobile home and knocked on every door in the hope of making his breakthrough.
That breakthrough came in 2021, when her single “Things a Man Oughta Know” hit number one. It helped her rise to the top ranks of country music, a role in “Yellowstone,” a deal with Wrangler, a Ram truck commercial, and more.
Despite her success and chart-topping songs and albums – her latest album, “Whirlwind,” debuted at number eight on the Billboard 200 chart last week – she remains grateful for what she has accomplished.
“I often wonder how I ended up here,” Wilson said. “Who let me in here?”
Because it took her so long to find success, Wilson has amassed a large following in Music City. She believes that’s why she’s been receiving so many awards lately. Although she’s not sure if she’ll be nominated for a CMA Award again this year, she said, “I’ve been keeping my fingers crossed.”
“I get real support from the industry,” she continued. “It’s because of the friendships I’ve built over the 13 years in Nashville. I really feel the love.”
This is evident in the number of collaborations she has had with other country artists, including Hardy, Cole Swindell, Miranda Lambert and Post Malone, who famously calls her “Miss Lainey Wilson,” she says with a laugh. Malone may have cut his teeth in rap and hip-hop, “but he knows the history of country music,” she said. “He’s very loyal to the community.”
While he was working on his album “F1 Trillion,” she said they had a marathon 15-hour writing session that lasted all night. “It’s rock star-like,” Wilson said. “In country, we start at 10 a.m. and go home at 5 p.m.”
“Several songs” came out of the session, she said, and although the duet “Nosedive,” which they sing on the album, is not included, “Have the Heart” was given to Dolly Parton to sing with Malone instead — another pinching-herself moment for Wilson.
Although she has accomplished more than she ever dreamed possible, Wilson admits there are still a few things on her wish list.
“I would love to do something with Miley Cyrus because of the ‘Hannah Montana’ connection,” she said. Cyrus starred in the Disney Channel series and Wilson was previously a Hannah Montana impersonator, which helped her gain more notoriety.
Wilson also said she would “love to be on SNL.”
While this may be a little out of her comfort zone, taking risks is in her DNA. This is reflected in her fashion choices. While she sometimes opts for designer outfits, Wilson almost always wears flared trousers, a look that has become her trademark.
“I love flared trousers,” she said, “and I’m totally into them. That’s what makes me who I am.”
When she’s not in public, Wilson says she “mostly wears pajamas. I like to be comfortable, so at home I wear sweatpants and sweatshirts – things that are cozy and comfortable.”
Wilson grew up in Baskin, Louisiana, a town of 180, where she and her sister performed as horseback riders and flag girls in local rodeos.
She said today that it’s her family that helps keep her grounded. She recounts how after winning the Entertainer of the Year award, she FaceTimed her young nephews and proudly showed them her trophy. Her 5-year-old nephew ran into his room, picked up a trophy he won playing sports and said, “What’s so special, I got a trophy too.”
She concluded, “I have a really good support system, whether it’s two therapists or a mom who prays all the time. But that’s good.”
