Lainey Wilson Will Defend Her Entertainer of the Year Title at 2024 CMA Awards
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1992-present
Latest News: Lainey Wilson Earns Four CMA Award Nominations
Country singer Lainey Wilson is a top nominee heading into the 2024 CMA Awards. The “Hang Tight Honey” singer received four nominations, behind Morgan Wallen’s seven and on the heels of Chris Stapleton’s and Cody Johnson’s five. The reigning Entertainer of the Year, Wilson will compete against Wallen, Stapleton, Luke Combs, and Jelly Roll to defend the title at the annual awards show on November 20.
Wilson could also take home her third trophy for Female Vocalist of the Year, which she has won two years in a row. Additionally, her hit song “Watermelon Moonshine” is up for Single of the Year, and her track “Wildflowers and Wild Horses” earned a nod for Music Video of the Year. Both are from her celebrated album Bell Bottom Country.
Wilson made her first appearance as a CMA nominee in 2022 and has since won a total of seven awards. The 32-year-old released her new album Whirlwind on August 23, just after the eligibility window for this year’s awards closed.
Listen to Whirlwind on Amazon Music, Apple Music, or Spotify
Who Is Lainey Wilson?
Lainey Wilson is a Grammy-winning country music singer and songwriter known for songs like “Things a Man Oughta Know,” “Watermelon Moonshine,” and “Heart Like a Truck.” Originally from Louisiana, Wilson moved to Nashville, Tennessee, at age 19 determined to become a country star. However, many executives believed her musical style didn’t fit the modern genre, and she struggled to achieve success for years. It wasn’t until her songs started to be featured on the popular television drama Yellowstone in 2019 that this perception began to change and Wilson achieved widespread popularity. She received the most nominations of any artist at the 2023 CMA Awards—ultimately winning five categories, including Entertainer of the Year and Female Vocalist of the Year.
Quick Facts
FULL NAME: Lainey Denay Wilson
BORN: May 19, 1992
BIRTHPLACE: Baskin, Louisiana
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Taurus
Where Is Lainey Wilson From?
Lainey Denay Wilson was born on May 19, 1992, and raised in Baskin, Louisiana, a small town with a population of fewer than 300 people. Her father is Brian Wilson, a fifth-generation farmer, and her mother is Michelle Wilson, a schoolteacher. Lainey has an older sister named Janna.
Her musical and fashion styles were greatly influenced by her parents from an early age. Her father played guitar at the family’s kitchen table, with young Lainey and Janna making up dances for his songs. Brian was inspired by artists like Buck Owens and Glen Campbell, whom he used to impersonate as a boy by standing on a picnic table with his guitar for passing motorists. Lainey also idolized Dolly Parton. She eventually paid tribute to the legendary singer with the 2021 single “WWDD,” standing for “What Would Dolly Do?”
Similarly, Michelle helped inspire her daughter’s sense of fashion. Now a signature part of her onstage apparel, Lainey received a pair of bell bottoms from her mother when she was a young girl. “At one point, [my mother] was like, ‘You’ve got to take them off, we’ve got to wash them,’” Lainey told Billboard of the blue leopard-print pants. “I’ve always been in love with things that are throwbacks, whether it’s music or stories.”
Lainey participated in extracurricular activities like cheerleading and basketball, but she gravitated toward music the most. Inspired by pop star, and fellow Louisianan, Britney Spears, she wrote her first song when she was 9 and started playing guitar at age 11. “It’s honestly been one of those things that from 9 years old, I knew I was going to do. I didn’t know how I was going to do it, but I knew it was going to be a journey,” she told Holler in 2021.
While in middle and high school, Wilson had an early taste of life as a performer by impersonating Hannah Montana—the popular Disney Channel character played by Miley Cyrus—at birthday parties, nursing homes, and other public venues. She also formed a cover band called the Cadillac Kings that played at bars and clubs despite the group being underage.
Following her high school graduation, 19-year-old Lainey moved to Nashville, Tennessee, in August 2011 determined to forge a career in country music.
Early Career Struggles
Despite her optimism, Wilson’s initial foray into the industry wasn’t all that successful. The singer lived frugally in a Flagstaff camper trailer for three years after her move, parking it right outside a recording studio that belonged to a family friend who owed her grandfather a favor. She told Good Morning America in November 2022 she often slept with three pairs of socks and multiple jackets to stay warm during the winter months. She also had to borrow water, internet service, and electricity from her neighbor.
All the while, she walked up and down Nashville’s Music Row, handing out demos and CDs in search of an opportunity that might kickstart her career. However, music executives perceived Wilson as “too country for country,” with her twangy voice and deeply personal songwriting in contrast to the pop-infused songs that were leading the genre. “I had a lot of folks slam the door in my face,” she told People. “There were some hard times, there were some rough days, times when I probably should have packed it up and went home.”
Despite this, she refused to give up. Wilson released her self-titled debut album in 2014. A year later, she met Mandelyn Monchick who, upon hearing Wilson’s song “Dreamcatcher,” was convinced the singer had “next level” talent and became her manager, according to The Washington Post. Wilson put out her second album, Tougher, in 2016 and experienced her first chart success with Tougher coming in at a modest No. 44 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums list.
By 2018, Wilson inked a publishing deal and signed with Broken Bow Records. Still, Wilson was far from a household name in the country scene. It would take an assist from an emerging TV show to start changing that.
Music and Role on Yellowstone
Like other rising country artists such as Zach Bryan, Wilson benefited greatly when her music was featured on the drama series Yellowstone, starring Kevin Costner.
The first Wilson song to appear on the Paramount show was “Working Overtime” in 2019’s Season 2. Since then, series co-creator Taylor Sheridan has featured Wilson’s singles “Straight Up Sideways” and “Small Town Girl” in Season 3, as well as “Smell Like Smoke”—a song Wilson penned specifically for Season 5.
Not satisfied with simply sharing her music, Sheridan eventually offered Wilson an on-camera role for the show’s fifth season in 2022. Appearing in four episodes, Wilson played Abby, a local musician who has a romantic relationship with ranch worker Ryan, a series regular played by Ian Bohen. “When Taylor told me, ‘I want to create a character specifically for you—I want you to wear your bell bottoms, sing your own songs, and pretty much be yourself,’ I knew that he was wanting to kind of help me over that wall… to put a face to a name for people,” she told Variety.
Despite her excitement, Wilson nearly quit after her father, Brian, developed an infection and suffered a stroke; he required nine surgeries, including the removal of his left eye. But after hearing Lainey discuss the situation over a telephone call at the hospital, Brian insisted that she fulfill her obligations. “I said, Daddy, I can’t leave you,’” she told People. “He said, ‘You better go, and you better not come back until the job is done.’ That is the girl that he raised. So I headed that way and did it.”
Breakthrough and Country Stardom
Thanks to the success of Yellowstone, Nashville finally started to take notice of Wilson and her music. She released her 2019 EP Redneck Hollywood, which contained the autobiographical single “LA” in a reference to her home state of Louisiana. Wilson also went on tour with another emerging country superstar, Morgan Wallen.
Soon after in February 2020, one of Wilson’s biggest dreams came true when she debuted at the famous Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. Later that summer, her single “Things a Man Oughta Know” released for radio play and became her breakout song. By September 2021, it reached the top of the Country Airplay chart—giving Wilson her first No. 1 hit—and Billboard named the singer its top new country artist for that year. Her 2021 studio album, Sayin’ What I’m Thinkin’, also charted but only as high as No. 40.
Still, Wilson’s trajectory was set. Her 2022 album, Bell Bottom Country, contained numerous hit singles, including eventual Country Airplay No. 1 “Watermelon Moonshine” and “Heart Like a Truck,” which peaked at No. 2. Wilson was nominated in six categories at that year’s Country Music Association Awards and won New Artist of the Year and Female Vocalist of the Year. “I promise you I know I’m new to a lot of folks, but I won’t let you all down. I promise you,” she said while accepting her award for the latter.
CMA Entertainer of the Year and Grammy Win
Keeping her word from a year prior, Wilson collaborated for a pair of hit duets in 2023: “Wait in the Truck” with Hardy and “Save Me” with Jelly Roll. She also established herself as one of the busiest artists in music, estimating in an October radio interview she scheduled more than 160 performances during the year. “It’s been hard, it’s been busy, but these are the moments that I’ve dreamed about and prayed for,” she said.
Not surprisingly, accolades continued to pour in. Wilson won in four categories at the Academy of Country Music Awards in May 2023, including Album of the Year for Bell Bottom Country and Female Artist of the Year, which her idol, Dolly Parton, presented to her.
Then in September, Wilson became the year’s most-nominated artist for the CMA Awards with nine. In addition to retaining her Best Female Vocalist trophy at the November awards ceremony, Wilson became the first female performer to win Entertainer of the Year since Taylor Swift in 2011 and claimed five awards in all.
She received more good news only days later when she received two Grammy nominations: Best Country Album for Bell Bottom Country and Best Country Duo-Group Performance for “Save Me.” Sure enough, Bell Bottom Country won the Grammy Award for Best Country Album in February 2024.
In mid-May, she won three ACM Awards, including Entertainer of the Year, and less than a week later, Reba McEntire invited her to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry. Before the month was over Lainey Wilson: Bell Bottom Country, a documentary about her ascending career, arrived to Hulu, and Wilson added bar owner to her résumé as the Bell Bottoms Up Bar opened in Nashville.
New Album and Tour
After she wrapped her first international headlining tour, the singer is once again back on the road for her Country’s Cool Again Tour. The concert series spans more than 35 shows and extends through mid-December 2024.
In mid-August, halfway through the tour, Wilson released her latest album, Whirlwind. “Hang Tight Honey,” the first single from the album, flooded country radio and reached No. 19 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart a week before Whirlwind arrived. Her new album debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 and No. 3 among Top Country Albums.
Continuing her streak as a top awards contender, Wilson was nominated for four 2024 CMA Awards in September. She has the chance to defend her titles as Entertainer of the Year and Female Vocalist of the Year at the upcoming ceremony in November.
Boyfriend
Wilson is not married and, until recently, kept details of her personal life private.
In May 2023, Wilson attended the ACM Awards with former NFL football player Devlin “Duck” Hodges. People confirmed with the singer’s reps the pair were dating. Then during an appearance on The Bobby Bones Show a month after the ACMs, Wilson revealed she and Hodges had actually been together for more than two years.
The couple met in 2021 in Nashville, Tennessee, through mutual friends. Wilson told People she kept her relationship with the former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback a secret because she wanted to see if Hodges was “in it for the right reasons.”
Hodges, 28, retired from football in 2022 and now works in real estate. “He knows what it’s like chasing a dream because he’s done that for himself,” Wilson said. “But I’ll tell you, he is good as gold. Supports me, would never come in between anything that I’m trying to do. He’s like, ‘Go get it, girl.’”
Weight Loss
Wilson has also made significant changes to her exercise and diet routines in recent years. In 2020, the singer declared she was taking a “Year of Health.” She cut out dairy, sugar, and processed foods from her diet and also hired a personal trainer. With these steps, as well as a commitment to running and hiking, she has reportedly lost as much as 70 pounds.
As a result, Wilson went viral in December 2022 for a TikTok video showing the singer performing in leopard pants that highlighted her figure. Wilson humorously acknowledged the attention the video generated, saying in an Instagram video, “Whatever brings the people in, whatever brings the people in! But I’m just letting y’all know, go check out my record, Bell Bottom Country. Happy to have ya either way. However you found me, I’m happy.”
Quotes
I remember this one guy telling me I was no good and how he hoped I wouldn’t cry when I left the station. I leaned over his desk and I said, “With all the years I’ve been in Nashville, you saying that to me ain’t s––.” This is probably a psycho trait of mine, but that just made me want [success] that much more.
I just got to a certain point where I’d been in Nashville for so long [and] my give-a-damn was a little busted. I felt like, “Why not just say what I want to say how I want to say it?” That’s one of the thoughts that really set me free.
When I look back, honestly, if I had known it was going to be this hard [to make it in the industry], I don’t know if I would go and do it again. And that sounds crazy, but it has been hard. But this is my only option. There was no Plan B for me.
In my opinion, it’s like the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, and Dolly Parton. That’s how I view it.
I want these kids to know that nothing happens overnight—at least not the good things. I want them to know that if you want something, you put in that time and energy and effort. And when somebody tells you no, you somehow turn it into a yes.
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