Yahoo Lifestyle Lainey Wilson Reflects on Whirlwind Year: "Blessings Keep on Flowing In"
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Lainey Wilson is having arguably the best year of her life. In 2024 alone, the 32-year-old singer took home seven awards, including the Grammy Award for Best Country Album, ACM Awards for Entertainer of the Year, Female Artist of the Year, and Music Event of the Year, a People’s Choice Award for Female Country Artist of the Year, and CMA Awards for Female Vocalist of the Year and Music Video of the Year. But that’s not all. This year, Lainey checked off a few other bucket list items, including opening her very own bell-bottom-themed bar on Lower Broadway and performing at the Dallas Cowboys Thanksgiving Halftime Show. After a whirlwind year, the “Good Horses” singer is ready to wrap up 2024, but not before going out with a bang: a one-night-only “Wildflowers and Wild Horses” show, sponsored by T-Mobile, at MGM Grand in Las Vegas this Saturday, December 14.
We sat down with Lainey ahead of her last hurrah to reflect on this milestone year and gauge what’s next for the country phenom. Settle in and scroll awhile.
“It feels great—I feel like I’m right where I’m supposed to be,” Lainey tells Country Living after looking back on her accomplishments from the year. “I’ve been in Nashville for 13 years—I moved here when I was 19 years old. I feel like all the hard work is finally starting to pay off and it’s getting fun, it’s getting exciting, and it just seems like one door opens after another and blessings keep on flowing in. It's a good place to be.”
Speaking of doors opening, Lainey assures us that this Sunday, December 15, she returns to the Yellowstone screen for the Season 5 finale.
“Yep, I'm going to be in it,” she promises. “We got to film our last part at Billy Bob's, which is, I mean, that's honky-tonk heaven right there. It was just really awesome and I played a handful of times at Billy Bob’s, and every time we go there, we feel at home, so it was a great place for us to end it.”
Nowadays, more and more famous cameos are making their way into Yellowstone but, as you may recall, Lainey was one of the first non-actors to join the cast. Before her character Abby even came to be, though, Lainey’s tunes set the tone of Yellowstone on more than one occasion.
“It's been a really fun way for me to be able to share my music before I even had the spot as Abby on the show,” she shares. “They had put a few of my songs in the show and really just introduced me to a crowd of people who had not heard of my music just yet. I mean, people would come up to me at my shows and be like, ‘Oh, I found you through the Yellowstone playlist and soundtrack’ and all these things, and it just shows me how important and powerful the music on that show really was for artists.”
Eventually—and to Lainey’s surprise—showrunner Taylor Sheridan realized that her vocals deserved a spot beyond the background.
“I developed a friendship with Taylor Sheridan and a few years after we had met at a horse riding competition, he was like, ‘Hey, I want to create a character specifically for you. And you can sing your songs, but go by another name: Abby,’ and I said “Well, I've never acted a day of my life.’ And he said, ‘Well, I think you can do it.’ And I [thought], ‘Well, if he thought I could do it, then I guess I can,’ and so I dove in headfirst.”
Her biggest takeaway from working on the show? Embrace the unknown and have a little faith in the process.
“My favorite thing about getting to join the show was really just being able to stand side-stage and learn from some of the best actors and actresses that I’ve ever seen—I got thrown into the fire, but sometimes you can learn a lot that way,” she reveals. “What I learned from all that is that I really just like being creative, and I like stepping outside the box and trying things that maybe I didn't necessarily sign up for, but my songwriting and the other things that I've been working on for so long, have kind of led me to these other opportunities. So I want to make sure that I'm not saying no to things just because they're a little scary.”
That’s the thing about Lainey Wilson: She’s unafraid to face her fears, push boundaries, believe in herself, and shoot for the stars—and it’s something she hopes to pass on to the next generation of young women with her beloved Cowgirl of the Night segment.
“My mama has always been a big believer [that] the way that you speak to yourself is very powerful,” Lainey tells us. “And at times, we're all human—and especially us girls, I mean, we have our days, you know? And it's important to get up and to be able to, every now and then, look at yourself in the mirror and say, ‘I am beautiful, I am smart, I am talented,’ so you can do whatever it is that day that you said you were gonna do—just kind of pulling yourself up by the bootstraps. And even though, yes, I'm out there with these little girls and I'm teaching them these little tricks that work for me at times, it's kind of a reminder to myself, too; every single time that I say it and they repeat it back to me, I'm saying it to myself. And you got to speak it and believe it from your mouth to God's ears.”
One Cowgirl of the Night who certainly believed in her ability to become Lainey’s best friend was none other than Savannah, the little girl who stole everyone’s hearts with her excited storytelling and eagerness to give Lainey her digits on stage. And wouldn’t you know, Lainey actually gave her a ring.
“I did actually get [Savannah’s] phone number and I called her the other day and we FaceTimed, and she was just as cute on FaceTime as she was on stage,” Lainey shares. “I mean she was just—there’s no telling what this girl is going to end up doing in her life because she was such a go-getter, she was not scared of anything; she was showing me around her house and introducing me to her cats and her whole family was there. It was so cute.”
Speaking of little ones, Lainey is gearing up to add a third little boy to her pack of nephews—and just in time for the holidays.
“My sister is having her third baby next week, so I'm going to have three little nephews and it's going to just be so much fun,” she marvels. “It feels like our family continues to change and grow, so it seems like the traditions are kind of changing every year, but really [the holidays] are just about the kids and being with my folks and being home in Louisiana—my daddy, he loves delivering turkeys to a lot of the people in Baskin, my hometown, and we kind of make a tradition out of that—and singing Christmas carols with my cousins, and just doing all the simple things.”
In that way, Lainey is just like us. She might be the most famous female country artist of the year, but she’s as down-to-earth as they come. And on that note, ever one to keep it real, Lainey says that this holiday season, she’ll be rocking stretchy pants like the rest of us.
“If they don’t stretch, I don't want ‘em,” Lainey laughs while discussing her iconic bell-bottom wardrobe. Her go-to brands for the exaggerated flares? “Of course, my Wranglers—I was wearing Wrangler jeans before I could even walk; my parents had me on the back of a horse in my Wranglers,” she says, referencing her collab with the brand and reflecting on why it’s so special to her. “And there is a company called Cat O Nine that I really love. I think she's out of South Louisiana—she has an Etsy shop and I found her through that—and she makes great, great bell bottoms, ones that are super stretchy.”
Before heading into all-out holiday mode, though, Lainey’s headed to Las Vegas, joined by Mae Estes and Tracy Lawrence, for her final show of 2024.
“We are so excited to be able to end the year out in Vegas at NFR—I feel at home every single time I go out there during this time of year because, I mean, there's cowboys and cowgirls everywhere, and it's just so much fun,” she says. “[We’re] trying to make this kind of a yearly thing. I know George Strait used to do something where around NFR he would have a show every year.”
If you’ll be in the area, make sure to stop by the T-Mobile Lainey’s Magenta Saloon pop-up and sign up for the Magenta Status loyalty program.
“I’m excited that T-Mobile is showing up to support me and the fans again,” Lainey says. “They've been in our corner this whole year and it's just been a great partnership.”
Signing up for the Magenta Status loyalty program grants access to light bites and cocktails at Lainey’s Magenta Saloon, plus a chance to win free tickets and a bevy of exclusive Magenta Status perks, including bespoke merch, a custom-designed Charlie 1 Horse hat, and Instagram-worthy photo moments. Speaking of perks, joining the Magenta Status loyalty program also grants the following exclusive advantages year-round:
Entertainment Streaming: Free subscriptions to Apple TV+, Hulu, and Netflix with Go5G Next.
Sports Streaming: Complimentary season-long access to MLB.TV.
Travel Perks: Free in-flight Wi-Fi, free international high-speed data and more.
Scam Shield: Protection against unwanted calls.
VIP Treatment: Access to exclusive deals on hotels, rental cars, food, concert and movie tickets, with an estimated value of $1,500 annually.
White tomorrow night marks Lainey’s last full show of 2024, she will be joining Post Malone, Shaboozey, and other country stars during New Year's Eve: Nashville's Big Bash on CBS. Speaking of Posty, Lainey can’t wait for all the mash-ups that await.
“I really love collaborating—at the end of the day, it's just fun to be able to kind of like, whether it's your song or their song, it's fun to be able to step into somebody else's world; it's fun to show up at their shows or have them show up at yours… so we'll see what happens in 2025,” she says.
Something we can count on? More music from Miss Lainey Wilson. “I am always writing,” she reveals. “Honestly, before our Whirlwind record came out, I was already writing for the next one. I would consider myself a songwriter before I considered myself an artist, so I'm kind of always in the middle of something.”
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