By now, the whole world knows Lainey Wilson’s name. Just two years after winning her first CMA Award, the “4x4xU” singer is gearing up to host the whole thing tonight (Wednesday, Nov. 20) alongside Luke Bryan and Peyton Manning. She’s also vying to become only the third woman ever to win Entertainer of the Year twice (joining Barbara Mandrell and Taylor Swift.) Here are three facts you probably didn’t know about the four-time 2024 CMA Awards nominee.
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Lainey Wilson Has Been Wearing Bell Bottoms Longer Than You Think
Bell Bottom Country, Lainey Wilson’s Grammy-winning fourth studio album, didn’t get its name by accident. The “Hang Tight Honey” hitmaker was just 8 or 9 years old when her mom bought her a pair of blue leopard print bell bottoms.
Years later, when she was looking to set herself apart from other female artists in Nashville, Wilson resurrected the bell bottom look. And clearly, it’s worked like a charm.
“I know when I first started wearing bell bottoms, there were a few people back at home who were like, “Why are you wearing those britches? Like, come on no,’” she said. “But I didn’t let it stop me. I said, “No, I’m gonna stand out, even if it makes me look a little goofy for a minute.”
She Got Her Start Pretending To Be Miley Cyrus
Long before she was an award-winning country music superstar, Lainey Wilson traveled around the southern United States impersonating Hannah Montana, the pop-star alter ego of Miley Cyrus in the popular Disney Channel show of the same name.
The side hustle started when Wilson’s eighth-grade teacher asked her to perform as Hannah Montana at her daughter’s ninth birthday party. She would continue the side hustle, earning up to $400 a show performing songs like “Best of Both Worlds” and “The Other Side of Me.”
She and This Country Superstar Go Way Back
Entertainer of the Year nominees Lainey Wilson and Luke Combs arrived in Nashville at roughly the same time. Combs was a frequent visitor to the tiny camper trailer Wilson lived in, where the pair would write songs together.
One of those songs, “Sheriff You Want To,” landed on Combs’ 2016 EP Can I Get An Outlaw.
“I actually sang on it too,” Wilson revealed. “My name wasn’t out next to it but if you listen to it, you can hear it.”
Featured image by AFF-USA/Shutterstock
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