Lainey Wilson has become one of the genre’s most celebrated new talents. After years of trying to make it big in Nashville, the Louisiana native earned her first No. 1 on country radio and went on to win multiple ACM and CMA Awards.
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With tracks like “Heart Like a Truck” and hit collaborations with HARDY, Cole Swindell, and Jelly Roll taking the country charts by storm, the 31-year-old talent has proved her staying power in country music. Here are five things to know about rising country star Lainey Wilson:
1. Lainey Wilson Was Raised Down on the Farm
Although the small-town origin stories of many modern country stars can sometimes sound exaggerated or cliche, Wilson truly came from humble beginnings. She spent her youth in the tiny town of Baskin, Louisiana, which boasts only 250 residents. Alongside her sister, Janna, Wilson was raised by her mother, Michelle, who worked as a schoolteacher. Her father, Brian, was a farmer who grew crops while tending to horses, which Lainey often rode around their property.
2. She Worked as a “Hannah Montana” Impersonator
Many of us worked odd jobs during our younger years, but Wilson’s high school gig was truly unique. In an early interview with Taste of Country, Lainey revealed she would perform as “Hannah Montana,” Miley Cyrus’s character from the popular Disney Channel series of the same name, at local events and concerts.
“I would open for myself. Lainey Wilson would open for Hannah Montana,” she explained in the 2017 Q&A. “It taught me so much about stage performance and like getting out there and just doing the thing.”
3. Attending a Grand Ole Opry Performance Changed Her Life
Wilson may have only skyrocketed to fame within the past few years, but she’s been pursuing her passion for music from a young age. Everything changed for the country talent at the age of nine when she attended a performance at the Grand Ole Opry. Wilson caught the country music bug after watching performances from Opry stars like Bill Anderson and Crystal Gayle.
“I just remember looking up there, being like, ‘Man, I wanna do that,'” she told The Boot in a 2020 interview.
4. Her First EP Was Released on MySpace
Before Spotify and Facebook took the internet by storm, the now-defunct social media platform MySpace was a quick and accessible way to share your music with the world. In 2006, when Wilson was just a young teen, she uploaded her first EP, Country Girls Rule, to the site. Although a quick Google search will take you to her now-mostly blank profile, the four tracks that made up her first independent release have sadly disappeared from the internet.
5. She Almost Gave Up Her ‘Yellowstone’ Acting Role
Paramount’s television series Yellowstone is a massive hit with a dedicated following, so being invited to join their cast is no small achievement. Wilson jumped at the chance to play the role of Abby, a country music singer, for the series’ fifth season. She was in the middle of filming when her father, Brian, was suddenly hospitalized after suffering a stroke.
Brian had to undergo nine surgeries and was facing a long road to recovery, according to People. Lainey stayed by her dad’s side through it all but soon had to decide if she could leave him behind to continue filming or risk losing her role to be with family. When her father got word that she was considering skipping out on her filming schedule, he told her, “You better go, and you better not come back until the job is done.”
Wilson listened to her dad’s demands and left the next day to continue filming. Thankfully, Brian recovered from his health issues and has been on hand to see his daughter’s many creative accomplishments since.
Photo Courtesy Broken Bow Records
