Tonight (May 8) is a night for reflection in the country music world. The Academy of Country Music is looking back on six decades of awards shows. The event opened with a 12-minute celebration of the history of country music, and genre history will likely be made in Frisco, Texas, tonight. Reba McEntire, Lainey Wilson, and Miranda Lambert are also looking back and paying tribute to those who came before them with their new single “Trailblazer.”
In one of the many highlights of the evening, the trio of current and former ACM Entertainers of the Year took the stage in reverse order of their debut. Wilson’s portion of the opening verse came first, followed by Lambert, and McEntire took the song into the first chorus. The lyrics saw them paying tribute to trailblazers that came before them, including Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette. They also gave nods to one another throughout the verses.
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[RELATED: Lainey Wilson, Miranda Lambert, and Reba McEntire Open Up About New Single “Trailblazer”]
Reba McEntire, Lainey Wilson, and Miranda Lambert Are Trailblazers
Miranda Lambert, Lainey Wilson, Reba McEntire, and Brandy Clark co-wrote “Trailblazer” while sitting on Lambert’s back porch in Texas. All of them know something about blazing trails for those who will follow in their footsteps.
McEntire, along with a few other ladies, kicked open several doors for women in country music in the 1990s. Today, she is much more than a country legend. She’s also an actress, a businesswoman, and much more. In the early 2000s, Lambert followed the trail that McEntire helped blaze and inspired a new generation of artists. Among those artists is Wilson.
Much like McEntire, Wilson was not content with being a country star. Instead, she also chose to follow McEntire onto the small screen, landing a role in Yellowstone. Recently, she announced her first role in a feature film. Future generations will doubtlessly have this trio to thank for opening countless doors. However, that’s not just true for future country artists.
“This could be a song that a grandmother and a daughter, and a grandchild could listen to and not just about the history of country music,” Wilson said. “If we’re not thinking about the people that we’re singing to, then they’re not going to be able to relate,” she added.
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