This is a big week for Lainey Wilson.
The country music artist, and reigning Entertainer of the Year of the Country Music Association, was on a whirlwind tour of New York for a Wrangler event and appearance on “The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon.”
While she was in town, she also got news that she’d been nominated for four CMA awards this year: Entertainer of the Year, Single of the Year for “Watermelon Moonshine,” Female Vocalist and Music Video for “Wildflowers and Wild Horses.”
While she was in Manhattan doing a preview of her Wrangler collection that will drop Sept. 25, Wilson also found the time to attend her first runway show: Carolina Herrera.
“It was really a full-circle moment for me,” she said. “I wore Carolina Herrera at the CMAs last year when I won Entertainer of the Year and then I was at her show when the news came out.”
Wilson spent more than a decade trying to break through, living in a camper van for three years while knocking on doors, hoping for a break.
That break came in 2021 when her single, “Things a Man Oughta Know,” hit number one. That helped lead her to the top echelon of country music, a role in “Yellowstone,” the deal with Wrangler, a Ram truck commercial and more.
Despite her success and chart-topping songs and albums — her latest, “Whirlwind,” debuted at number eight on the Billboard 200 chart last week — she remains appreciative of what she has achieved.
“I often think, how did I wind up here,” Wilson said. “Who let me in this place?”
Because it took her so long to find success, Wilson said she amassed a large group of supporters in Music City. That’s the reason, she believes, she’s received so many awards of late. While she wasn’t sure if she’d be nominated for any CMA awards again this year, she said: “I had my fingers crossed.
“I get genuine support from the industry,” she continued. “It’s the friendships I’ve built in the 13 years I’ve been in Nashville. I really feel the love.”
That shows in the number of collaborations she’s done 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 his country music history,” she said. “He’s very loyal to the community.”
As he was working on his album “F1 Trillion,” she said they had a 15-hour marathon writing session that lasted through the night. “That’s very rock star stuff,” Wilson said. “In country, we start at 10 [a.m.] and go home at 5 [p.m.].”
The session resulted in “multiple songs,” she said, and while the duet they do on the album, “Nosedive,” wasn’t one of them, their “Have the Heart” was instead given to Dolly Parton to sing with Malone, another pinch-me moment for Wilson.
While she has achieved more than she ever dreamed, Wilson admits there are a few things left on her bucket list.
“I’d love to do something with Miley Cyrus because of the ‘Hannah Montana’ connection,” she said. Cyrus played the leading role in the Disney channel series and Wilson used to be a Hannah Montana impersonator, which helped raise her profile.
Wilson also said she’d “love to do SNL.”
While that may be a bit out of her comfort zone, taking risks is just part of her DNA. That shows in her fashion choices as well. While she sometimes opts for designer outfits, Wilson is almost always dressed in bell-bottoms, a look that has become her signature.
“I love bell-bottoms,” she said, “and I really lean into that. It’s what makes me me.”
When she’s not in the public eye, Wilson said she opts for “mostly pjs. I like being comfortable, so at home, it’s sweatpants and sweaters — things that are cozy and comfortable.”
Wilson grew up Baskin, La., a town of 180 people where she and her sister rode horses and were the flag girls at local rodeos.
She said today it’s her family that helps keep her grounded. She tells a story of how she did a FaceTime call with her young nephews after she won the Entertainer of the Year award and proudly showed them her trophy. Her 5-year-old nephew ran into his room, picked up a trophy he’d won playing sports, and said, “What’s the big deal, I got a trophy, too.”
She concluded: “I do have a really good support system, whether that means two therapists or a mama who is praying constantly. But that’s good.”
