Lainey Wilson Gets Real About Overdoing It in the Studio on Latest Hit: “I Just Let It All Go”

Whirlwind was more than an album for Lainey Wilson – it was exactly as the title stated – a whirlwind. Released in August 2023, the album quickly climbed the charts, peaking at No. 1 on the US Independent Albums. It hit No. 3 on the US Top Country Albums and No. 8 on the US Billboard 200. Add that to hit songs like “4X4XU” and “Country Cool Again,” Whirlwind was a success. But according to Wilson, the record didn’t come without its challenges thanks to “Somewhere Over Laredo.” 

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At the time of Whirlwind’s release, the album had three different versions. The standard version featured 14 songs co-written by Wilson. That included her collaboration with Miranda Lambert on “Good Horses.” A special Walmart exclusive version offered “Where the Sun Don’t Shine.” And to celebrate the entire album, a deluxe package showcased “King Ranch, King George, King James,” “Bell Bottoms Up,” “Peace, Love and Cowboys,” “Somewhere Over Laredo,” and “Yesterday, All Day, Every Day.” 

In total, the entire Whirlwind experience highlighted 19 songs. And when discussing the album, Wilson considered “Somwhere Over Laredo” one of the hardest songs for her to sing. “I’ll be honest, this song is not easy to sing. And for some reason, like when I get in the studio, I think I’m Superwoman and I think I can get in there and just hold these notes like I did with ‘Heart Like a Truck.’ And I feel like I just let it all go when I’m in there. And it kinda just rolled out of me.”

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Can You Beat Lainey Wilson In “Somewhere Over Laredo”

When preparing to record vocals for “Somewhere Over Laredo”, Wilson wasn’t entirely sure on how she wanted to approach the sound. But letting the lyrics guide her, she said, “It was a moment for me, at least, like the different parts that I chose to go up and down and pullin’ back and goin’ for it was really just kind of led by straight emotion.”    

Before Wilson watched her name hit the top of the charts in country music, she was a fan. And like most fans, she never forgot trying to hold out a note like her favorite singers. In yet another full-circle moment in her career, she got to present her own challenge. “I like giving the fans something to kind of try to do. I think it’s like a fun way for them to, like, be in their car driving down the road and … they see how long they could hold it.” 

Aside from testing the power in her voice, Wilson hoped to take home a few awards, including Entertainer of the Year, at the 61st Academy of Country Music Awards, airing on May 17 in Las Vegas.  

(Photo by Erika Goldring/Getty Images)