It’s safe to say that Lainey Wilson is having an unforgettable November. The 31-year-old walked away with five  CMA Awards last week, including for the night’s highest honor, Entertainer of the Year. Two days later, Wilson scored her first two Grammy Awards nominations.

“Bell Bottom Country is nominated for Country Album Of The Year at this year’s #GRAMMYs and my brother Jelly Roll and I snagged a nomination for Country Duo/Group Performance with “Save Me,” Wilson said on social media when the nominations were announced. “It is an honor, to say the least. Thank you Recording Academy / GRAMMYs and big congrats to all the nominees.”

 

At the 2023 CMA Awards, Wilson also won Female Vocalist of the Year, Album of the Year, for Bell Bottom Country, plus Video of the Year and Musical Event of the Year, both for her “wait in the truck” with HARDY.

“This is all I’ve ever wanted to do, it’s the only thing I know how to do,” Wilson said when accepting the Entertainer of the Year trophy. “We have played… I think at the end of the year we’ll have played about 186 shows this year and we‘ve worked our butts off this year and so many years in between. I’ve been in this town for 12-and-a-half years and it finally feels like country music is starting to love me back.”

Country music success didn’t come quick, or easy, to Wilson, but she never doubted she would one day find herself where she is now, at the pinnacle of success.

“The truth is, I knew that this would happen,” Wilson said backstage at the CMA Awards. “I knew that I would be here. I feel like sometimes you gotta pretend, you gotta put yourself into the shoes of things that you’re not, so one day you can become what you want to be, and what you knew that you could be. And that’s what I do.”

For several years, Wilson lived in a camper trailer in Nashville, determined to not go home with her tail tucked between her legs, even when life got hard. But now that her hard work has paid off so well, the Louisiana native has a message for others, who may be on the verge of giving up hope.

“Don’t let anybody tell you no” Wilson encouraged. “At the end of the day, it’s all about timing. And I’ve been in this town for 12 and a half years, but I didn’t start working on this 12 and a half years ago. I started working when I was nine years old. And that is the truth. So I’m hoping that I can show folks … Blood, sweat and tears, elbow, grease, and faith. It’ll take you as far as you want it to go.”

Wilson also performed her new single, “Wildflowers and Wild Horses,” during the CMA Awards ceremony. The song, which she wrote with Trannie Anderson and Paul Sikes, is from Bell Bottom Country. She will headline both her global Lainey Wilson: LIVE Tour, and her Country’s Cool Again Tour, and also join Morgan Wallen on his One Night At A Time World Tour.

Find music and tour dates at LaineyWilson.com.