Not only was Lainey Wilson the most-nominated artist at the CMA Awards, but she also walked away with the most trophies. The 31-year-old won a total of five awards, for Female Vocalist of the Year, Album of the Year, for Bell Bottom Country, Video of the Year and Musical Event of the Year, both for “wait in the truck” with HARDY, and the night’s highest honor, Entertainer of the Year.
Wilson’s path to country music stardom was anything but easy, but she never gave up believing in herself, even when the odds seemed stacked against her.
“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.”
When Wilson moved from her native Louisiana to Nashville, she lived for years in a little camper trailer, trying to get anyone to listen to her music, and struggling to pay her bills. But she kept persevering, believing that one day her hard work would pay off.
“Those lonely nights in my camper trailer out in West Nashville, I was envisioning myself being here,” Wilson said. “I was waiting outside of the Bridgestone to get a little wristband, so I could maybe be down in the pit, and just feel like I was a part of this industry. I knew it. I knew it with every fiber of my being, and that sounds wild, but it’s true.
“And I think a lot of people around me, my mom and my daddy especially, they knew it too,” she added. “And I’ve always had kind of a weird sense of peace about it. But I do feel like I’m right where I’m supposed to be.”
Now that Wilson’s hard work has resulted in so much success, she has a message for others, who may also have a dream they are sometimes tempted to give up on.
“Don’t let anybody tell you no” Wilson admonished. “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 will headline both her global Lainey Wilson: LIVE Tour, and her Country’s Cool Again Tour. Find music and tour dates at LaineyWilson.com.