Back in February, Beyoncé’s album Cowboy Carter snagged the Best Country Album Grammy Award, where she was up against Lainey Wilson, Kacey Musgraves, and more full-time country stars. Some people were shocked—including Beyoncé herself. If you remember, there was an uproar over whether or not the album was really country when it was released. However, for as much as there were haters, many country music stars also welcomed Beyoncé into the genre and made space for her. The Grammy win seemed to validate the album’s effort.
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Still, some people wondered what full-time country artists thought about Cowboy Carter‘s Best Country Album win. During a recent interview in the U.K., where she’s currently on tour, Lainey Wilson was asked that exact question—was it “frustrating” that she lost Best Country Album to Beyoncé?
“Not for me at all,” Wilson answered, according to a video of the interview posted on TikTok. “Just because, at the end of the day, when I first started doing this and dreaming about doing this, I never in a million years was thinking, like, I’m doing this just for the awards. You know, just to have the shiny stuff up on the shelf. I’m doing this to play shows and put butts in seats and make people feel something.”
Lainey Wilson Weighs In On Beyoncé’s Country Album Grammy Win
Wilson continued, sharing an anecdote of her chance to meet Beyoncé. “So I got an opportunity to meet [Beyoncé] at the Grammys, and I walked up to her like seven-foot tall security guy and I’m like, ‘Can I meet her?’” Wilson explained. “We both share a deep appreciation for what each other does and I think that she’s introduced a lot of people to the country genre that maybe ever even knew that they liked it, and country’s on fire right now.”
Truly, country music is still going strong after a wildly successful year. Many pop and mainstream artists crossed genres, such as Post Malone with F-1 Trillion. Even Ringo Starr put out a country album recently. The genre is continuously having a moment, with more people being introduced to country that most likely wouldn’t have given it a chance, as Wilson suggested.
Currently, Lainey Wilson is on the European leg of the tour for her 2024 album Whirlwind, which was met with much praise. On March 14, for example, she played the C2C festival, England’s biggest country music fest. She’ll be making stops in Germany, the Netherlands, Ireland, and elsewhere in the U.K., among others, where she will continue to bring American country music to overseas fans.
Featured Image by Joseph Okpako/WireImage
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