Lainey Wilson Gives a Sneak Peek Into Her ACM Awards Red Carpet Look

Will Lainey Wilson own the night at the 2023 Academy of Country Music (ACM) Awards tonight? After all, she’s nominated for six awards, the most of any woman, and second overall, losing by one nom to HARDY. That said, the two share three nominations for their duet "Wait in the Truck."

“I have loved country music my entire life,” Wilson told Parade in this exclusive interview. “I mean I eat, sleep, and breathe it. I'm from a town of 200 people in northeast Louisiana, where it's truly just a way of life, so it has taken a really long time, but I finally do feel like country music is starting to love me back. It feels great to feel included and recognized. It’s something I don't think I'll ever get used to.”

Part of that feeling stems from the fact that Wilson began knocking on doors in Nashville back in 2011, and no one was opening them and that was due in part to just how country she was. It’s hard to imagine, but at that time, she was considered too country for country music.

“When I moved to Nashville, I was, ‘All right. Here we are. I'm in Country Music City,’ and then I realized after I met a lot of people that nobody talks like me,” she explained. “It was like I was the countriest one there, which really blew my mind. It's crazy to think that what I do now is what I did then. Of course, I've gone and gotten better. I'm a better songwriter and storyteller and singer, but I've always been this country. Not anything has changed.”

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With six ACM nominations, there’s no doubt that Wilson has honed her talent in the ensuing years, so it’s hard to imagine that she might be shut out tonight, so just in case she ends up getting to take home a prize or two, she’s planning to jot down a few notes to help with her speech. She isn’t superstitious about planning ahead like some artists.

“Sometimes when they call your name and you’ve got a million thoughts running through your brain, it's hard to remember everybody to thank,” says the “Heart Like a Truck” vocalist. “You want to make sure to cover your bases, but I will say, I feel like even if I do have a few little bullet points, I am still going to speak right from the heart. Whatever comes out comes out. At this point, a lot of folks know that about me. Whatever comes out, happens.”

In keeping with that idea of staying true to herself, Wilson will also be wearing her signature look—wide brim hat and bell bottoms—on the red carpet. No fancy gowns for this woman, who believes in staying authentic to who she is.

“It's a really awesome outfit,” she says. “I'm so excited to strut my stuff. They definitely elevated the look. Sometimes it's hard to dress up pants but they've done it.”

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And she will have a second, completely different look for her performance.

“I've learned how to love the whole fashion side of things,” she says. “It’s given me an opportunity to really kind of express myself in a different way. I get to do that with my songs and I get to do it with what I wear every day.”

She also sees that self expression as the key to durability in her career. So many singers today take the easy road. They look to see what everybody else is doing, what’s working, and chart their course accordingly, but Wilson, who has also written music for and made her acting debut in the TV series Yellowstone, isn't going to take that path.

“I don't think longevity comes along with that,” she says. “I have a lot of people in my life who have encouraged me to find whatever it is that makes me different and special and lean into it, to not be anything other than myself. I sure would hate to wake up 40 years from now and have been successful but doing it by being something that is not true to me.”

The 2023 ACM Awards, hosted by Dolly Parton and Garth Brooks, will stream live tonight on Amazon's Prime Video from the Ford Center at the Star in Frisco, Texas.

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