Lainey Wilson's country career has been on fire since 2019. Her music was featured on the popular show Yellowstone, she had a major hit on the country billboards with "Things a Man Oughta Know" and she won New Female Artist of the Year at the 2021 ACM Awards. She's consistently putting out good music, has gone on tour with the likes of Jason Aldean and now she's adding Yellowstone cast member to her resume. Here are some things you might not know about this rising country star.
She's a big Yellowstone fan
While Wilson is gearing up to actually join the cast of the Paramount Network's wildly successful western series Yellowstone in season 5, she previously had her music featured on the series starting in the second season. It was a big deal for Wilson to have her music on television, but it was even more exciting because she genuinely loves the show.
"I am honored to have my songs featured in Yellowstone," she told us. "I grew up on the back of a horse, and my sister and I were PRCA rodeo flag girls, so it feels extra special to be included in the coolest/most popular cowboy show of all time. As a songwriter, you dream about driving down the road and hearing your song on the radio, but hearing it on one of your favorite TV shows? That is another level."
She grew up in Louisiana like Tim McGraw
Growing up on a family farm in the small town of Baskin, Louisiana, might not seem like the place to inspire big dreams like singing in Nashville and acting in Hollywood, but Lainey Wilson did just that. She learned to have a strong work ethic, which served her in the many years it took to get Nashville to take notice of her talent. Country superstar Tim McGraw is also from a small town in Louisiana, which Wilson told The Advocate was an inspiration to her growing up.
"I looked at Tim McGraw and was like, 'Wow. If he can do it, and he's from Start, Louisiana, maybe I can do it.' Now I hope that I'm encouraging another little girl or boy who has big dreams."
Though she's now one of the fastest-rising stars in Nashville, she hasn't forgotten where she comes from or the small town that helped shape her into who she is today. She frequently gives credit to Louisiana and the people of Baskin, who supported her long before her fame.
"I'm proud of where I'm from, I'm proud of how I was raised," she told Bayou Life Mag. "I have a whole lot to owe to Louisiana ... I can't be anything but what Louisiana made me, and that's the truth."
She was a Hannah Montana impersonator
Wilson's first professional singing gig isn't really what you'd expect. She wasn't performing her own music or writing songs but taking on the popular Disney character made iconic by Miley Cyrus. For years during her youth, Wilson was a Hannah Montana impersonator, performing as the celebrity character from the Disney series Cyrus starred in with her dad, Billy Ray Cyrus.
"I impersonated 'Hannah Montana' for 5 years," she told The Country Daily. "It was like my childhood, high school gig. I did it from 8th grade to 12th grade. I did birthday parties, fairs, festivals ...the last place I played was St. Jude. Every now and then Lainey Wilson might open the show for Hannah Montana. Sometimes they'd be like 'Who's Lainey?' and 'Nah, we just asked for Hannah.'"
Country music was really important to her family
Her father played guitar, her mother loved to dance, and her grandparents would take her to local bluegrass festivals. Wilson was raised on the true country classics — Dolly Parton, Glen Campbell, Buck Owens and Hank Williams. It was something they all connected over and valued, which instilled in her a love of these iconic artists, especially her hero Dolly Parton.
"Country music for me and my family, it was more than music," she told The Advocate. "We lived the words to those songs."
She was 9 years old when she decided to move to Nashville
She grew up loving country music, singing and being creative, but she knew from the young age of 9 that Nashville would one day be home. Despite still feeling passionate about her small hometown roots, Nashville was where Wilson belonged, and it's impressive she stood by that dream until she finally made the move as an adult.
"I took my first family vacation when I was about 9 years old, and we went to Gatlinburg and drove through Nashville on the way home back to Louisiana," she explained to Bayou Life Mag. "And I remember exactly where I was when I told my parents, 'This is home.' I was looking at the Batman building [in downtown Nashville]."
READ MORE: Kelly Reilly Gives Lainey Wilson High Praise During 'Yellowstone' Season 5 Filming
