These days, Lainey Wilson is on top of the world. Since releasing her breakout album Bell Bottom Country in 2022, she has won a trophy case full of awards including a Grammy and Entertainer of the Year trophies from the CMA and ACM Awards. With her follow-up album Whirlwind coming later this year, the Baskin, Louisiana native is an unstoppable force in the country music world. However, that wasn’t always the case. She worked hard and dealt with rejection for years before finding success. She even got rejected by American Idol seven times.
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Recently, Wilson appeared on Today with Hoda & Jenna to talk about her new album Whirlwind and more. While there, she opened up about her long road to success and the rejection she dealt with along the way.
Lainey Wilson on Being Rejected from American Idol
Lainey Wilson tried out for American Idol seven times and got rejected every time. She had a similar experience with The Voice. Co-host Jenna Bush Hager brought up her history with Idol on during a conversation about the “Hang Tight Honey” singer’s road to success. “Let’s talk about rejections because as you said, you were in Nashville for a long time,” she began. “I felt like this was wrong, but you also tried out for American Idol?” she asked.
“Oh, I tried out for anything that would take me,” Wilson said with a laugh. She didn’t let the “no” stop her, though. “Somehow [I] just kind of like turned it into a ‘yes’ in a weird way,” Wilson said. “I never would have had the opportunity if it was always going to be a no. And that’s a little crazy, but you’ve got to be a little crazy to do this,” she added.
Wilson went on to say that she appreciates the years she spent in Nashville before finding success. “It makes it that much sweeter,” she said about the long wait. “The truth is, when I got to Nashville in 2011 with my little camper trailer, I had not lived enough life, at that point, to tell the kinds of stories that I think I was supposed to tell so I could connect with the people that I’m connected with,” she added. “I do believe that timing is everything.”
Featured Image by Terry Wyatt/WireImage
