Lainey Wilson was the musical guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live last night (December 12). She took the stage to perform “Wildflowers and Wild Horses” with her band. During the short set, the Louisiana native showed a national TV audience how she became the CMA Entertainer of the Year.
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Wilson performed “Wild Horses and Wildflowers” on a small stage to fewer people than she’s accustomed to lately. However, she attacked the performance with stadium-level energy. It was as if, in her mind, everyone watching across the nation was in front of her in the studio audience. She cranked up the intensity during the verses. Then, she danced like she was having the time of her life as the band played.
[See Lainey Wilson Live: Get Tickets]
The Entertainer of the Year’s performance was flawless and her stage design added another layer to the taping. The stage lights cast a sepia-toned glow over the stage that featured stands of wild prairie grass. Screens showing videos of wild horses charging across the plains and other Western imagery flanked the stage. In short, the only thing missing from her outing last night was the impressive ring of fire that graced the stage during the CMA Awards last month.
2023 Was the Lainey Wilson’s Year
After more than a decade in Nashville and a lifetime of loving country music, Wilson got her flowers this year. She dominated the CMA Awards winning Female Vocalist of the Year, Album of the Year, Musical Event of the Year, Music Video of the Year, and Entertainer of the Year. Then, she received the Patsy Montana Entertainer Award from the Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame.
[RELATED: Lainey Wilson Receives Patsy Montana Entertainer Award from the Cowgirl Hall of Fame]
During her EotY acceptance speech, Wilson compared her current career trajectory to riding a wild horse. She went into the night with nine nominations. Referencing that, she said that nine might be her lucky number. The Louisiana native explained that she was nine years old when many life-changing things happened. One of those was getting her first horse.
[RELATED: Lainey Wilson Dominates at CMA Awards, Takes Home Entertainer of The Year and More]
“It’s the year my mom and daddy brought home a horse named Tex, and the horse was wild and it needed breaking,” she recalled. “They put me on the back of that thing and said, ‘You better hold on and you better ride.’ I tell you what, there were times I was crying and I wanted to get down like let me off the back of this thing. But, y’all, every time it would start bucking I held on a little tighter, and I think that right there was what prepared me for this ride because it is wild.”
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