Lainey Wilson Teams Up With Ernest For Dreamy Duet During Opening Night of Whirlwind Tour

Lainey Wilson both sounds exactly like classic country music, and nothing like classic country music. The reigning Entertainer of the Year brings her unique bell bottom flair to songs like “Watermelon Moonshine” and “Country’s Cool Again,” but she always stays true to her roots. Kicking off her highly-anticipated Whirlwind tour this week, Lainey Wilson brought Ernest onstage for a tender duet of their 2024 song “Would If I Could.”

This Lainey Wilson, Ernest Duet Is Perfection

Last week, Ernest shared a video to social media of himself playing “I Would If I Could,” off his 2024 album NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE, with the caption, “Should we play this one soon Lainey Wilson?”

Apparently, her answer was yes. Ernest joined the Grammy winner Thursday (Aug. 14) during the opening night of her Whirlwind Tour in Phoenix, Arizona. Wilson’s soulful vocals are truly awe-inspiring as she sings, And I wanna believe that I’d try us again / If I really believed there was some future in it.

@madilynnolyn

probably one of my favorite parts of the entire concert. they sounded so good together!! #laineywilson #ernest #phx1 #country

♬ original sound – Madilyn Krvaric

“This was so magical!” declared one TikTok user.

Added another, “I love them together this song doesn’t get enough credit!”

“I Would If I Could” is the product of two legendary ’90s songwriters. It’s the only song that Dean Dillon and Skip Ewing have ever written together, and honestly, why mess with perfection?

“I had that little idea, ‘I would if I could,’ and when I knew I was going to write with him, I thought, ‘Well, that could be right in his wheelhouse,’” Ewing told Billboard. “We didn’t spend very much time together, and I’ve never talked to him since.”

[RELATED: “The Time Is Now for Me To Go Sing My Songs”: Ernest Talks Wearing the “Artist Cap,” Reveals “Best Text Message Ever” From Dean Dillon (Exclusive)]

This Country Legend Came Very Close To Cutting The Song

Before ERNEST enlisted Lainey Wilson on “I Would If Could,” he remarked that the tune sounded a bit like a George Strait song. That’s because it very nearly was.

“Every Monday of the week George recorded, I’d go to his office at 10 a.m. in the morning over at [manager] Erv [Woolsey’s] place,” Dean Dillon told Billboard. “The stuff he’d like, he’d keep, and then when he cut the session, if I got something, it was all good. And most of the times I did.”

Apparently, Strait seriously considered cutting “I Would If I Could,” which Dillon didn’t learn until much later. “That’s one more thing I can b–ch to him about,” he joked.

Featured image via Instagram