There's a long list of major country stars to not make it far on America's various popular singing competition series. For example, Luke Combs' The Voice audition got him nowhere with the coaches, and Maren Morris got shot down by not just The Voice but also American Idol and America's Got Talent. While co-hosting radio mainstay Country Countdown USA in May, Lainey Wilson opened up about being rejected by multiple shows despite her persistence.
"I finally made it on American Idol. I tried out seven times [and] I took the long way around but finally made it on American Idol [and] I never made it through... never made it past the first round," Wilson shared.
"I also tried out for The Voice," she added. "I'm grateful my story ended the way that it did."
Each case of being shunned furthers the legend of Wilson's decade-plus climb to stardom. It was a chase fueled by a lifelong love of country music and a refusal to let a flood of industry types saying "no" break her resolve.
"I've known that this is my calling, and there's nothing else I want to do that I can do," she told People. "I've always just been like, 'No plan B. This is it.' I feel like that time I've had to prepare, I don't know... If it happened when I wanted it to, I don't know that I would have been ready."
Recently, persistence has paid off for Wilson through multiple hit albums as well as a shelf-full of industry awards and a regular role on Yellowstone, a popular TV series with a country and Americana-heavy soundtrack.
"I feel like country music has finally decided to love me back as much as I've been loving it for my whole life," Wilson told People. "It feels good to be recognized."
