Lainey Wilson is having a good year. Her blockbuster Bell Bottom Country recently won the 2024 Grammy Award for Best Country Album, and she’s performing at the upcoming People’s Choice Awards on February 18, where she’s up for Female Country Artist of the Year.
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Though she’s collecting more trophies than Patrick Mahomes, her path to this summit wasn’t easy. Her music career is a lesson in perseverance, as the gritty country star struggled for years to gain traction.
Speaking of gritty, her first major label single, “Dirty Looks,” shows the same kind of underdog determination that parallels Wilson’s career. Read below to find out who’s lookin’ dirty.
Don’t Wash Up
Wilson’s character in “Dirty Looks” likes her man when the sweat from a hard day’s work lingers. She’s not afraid to show affection in a crowded bar, surrounded by strangers giving these lovers dirty looks.
Wilson flips the judgmental glares and turns them into a compliment for how good her man looks dirty.
I know it’s been a long day; you been haulin’ that hay
You need a break from workin’ in the sunshine
So you met me in here for a couple of beers
Just to wash away that overtime
Now you’re sayin’ that you wish you would’ve cleaned up
But you know I don’t care about that
When you’re leanin’ in and kissin’ me
And I can’t stop kissin’ you back
Brent Anderson and Smith Ahnquist co-wrote “Dirty Looks” with Wilson, released as the lead single from her third studio album Sayin’ What I’m Thinkin’. While writing the album, Wilson kept herself honest, asking, “Am I saying what I’m thinking.” The answer is yes.
Like the dirt on your shirt and your jeans and your boots
If you ask me, dirty looks good on you
“Dirty Looks” originally appeared on Wilson’s 2019 EP Redneck Hollywood, which also includes her breakout song, “Things a Man Oughta Know.”
Heart like a Truck
Wilson told Rolling Stone in 2021 she wanted to sound pure like Lee Ann Womack and sassy like Dolly Parton. Ultimately, she found her own voice. Though the Louisiana native sounds unlike anyone else, the echoes of country legends still take shape in her songs.
But she had to grow into her extraordinary talent. After high school, Wilson arrived in Nashville in 2011. Music City came with hard lessons; at one point, she lived in a trailer outside a recording studio. Wilson’s gritty persistence led to releasing music independently, and then she signed a publishing contract with Sony/ATV.
BBR Music Group signed her in 2018, and the following year Redneck Hollywood arrived. “Things a Man Oughta Know” became Wilson’s first No. 1 single. She was a rising star, and Wilson had arrived after almost a decade of setbacks.
At the 2023 CMA Awards, she received nine nominations and became the first female since Taylor Swift in 2009 to win Entertainer of the Year. The bell-bottom girl from Baskin became one of the biggest stars in country music.
Fake It Till You Make It
The cliché “fake it till you make it” is the façade of confidence. It’s a valuable concept for making it in the music business. Confidence is necessary unless you’re playing in a shoegaze band or Pavement.
Like Wilson’s character in “Dirty Looks,” you can’t care what other people think. Jason Isbell talked about this regarding songwriting. The feeling of belief in what you’re doing outweighs the opinions of others.
The music industry took a long time to catch up to Wilson. She probably improved with each passing year in Nashville, but the music business is a slow-moving beast, and that beast doesn’t always have the confidence to acknowledge greatness unless someone else does first.
Everything’s Perfect
Wilson’s “Dirty Looks” is a good reminder of why some imperfections are worth saving in a world aimed constantly at perfectionism. Artists use computers to see the “mistakes” their ears missed. And Photoshop is so well known it’s become a verb. Who knows what an AI-dominated future will look like?
But people crave authenticity, which is why an artist like Wilson connects on a massive scale. Fans see themselves in her and relate to the characters of her songs. These communal connections thread all genres of music, from blues to hip-hop, rock, and country.
You don’t have to be a small-town girl to be “real,” but it’s nice when authenticity isn’t a marketing tool. Many people say what they think others want to hear. Thankfully, Wilson is sayin’ what she’s thinkin’.
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Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images
