It’s been one charged year for Lainey Wilson, and after receiving nine CMA nominations at the 57th Annual CMA Awards on Wednesday (November 8), she went home with five awards, including the top honor of Entertainer of the Year. The award caps off what has been a triumphant year for the country singer and songwriter.
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“I’ve been in this town 12 and a half years, and it finally feels like country music is starting to love me back,” said a tearful Wilson during her acceptance speech. “I love it with my whole heart.”
Wilson went on to say that she believes nine is her lucky number since she received that number of CMA nominations and has had other pivotal moments around the digit throughout her life. “It’s also the year that I wrote my first song,” said Wilson. “It’s the year that I got my first pair of bell bottoms. It’s the year my mom and daddy brought me to Nashville for the very first time and took me to the Grand Ole Opry for the first time.”
She added, “It’s the year my mom and daddy brought home a horse named Tex, and the horse was wild and it needed breaking and they put me on the back of that thing and said ‘You better hold on and you better ride.’ I tell you what, there were times I was crying and I wanted to get down like let me off the back of this thing but ya’ll every time it would start bucking I held on a little bit tighter, and I think that right there was what prepared me for this ride because it is wild. Thank you for letting me be me.”
Wilson has undoubtedly become one of the leading women in the country throughout the past year, from her blockbuster 2022 album Bell Bottom Country and her hit, “Heart Like a Truck,” to her collaborations with Jelly Roll on “Save Me” and “wait in the truck” with HARDY, which also picked up two CMAs for Musical Event of the Year and Music Video of the Year.
This year, Wilson also won the CMA for Female Vocalist of the Year and Album of the Year for Bell Bottom Country. Earlier in the evening, Wilson performed her Bell Bottom Country song “Wildflowers and Wild Horses” with a ring of fire behind her on stage.
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After closing out a series of shows at the end of November through December 2023, including a brief run of shows at The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas, Nevada from December 13 through 16, Wilson will kick off her European and Australian Tour Dates in 2024.
The tour will feature special guests Jackson Dean, Kameron Marlowe, and Harper O’Neill, and starts on March 20 in Melbourne, Australia before wrapping up on May 3 in Oslo, Norway. On May 31, Wilson will continue her Country’s Cool Again North American Tour, beginning in Nashville, Tennessee, and concluding on November 16 in Monroe, Louisiana.
“There’s no better feeling than putting on a show for a group of folks who have supported from afar for so long,” said Wilson in a statement. “I’m excited to bring the live show overseas next year and perform in some brand-new cities for the first time.”
Calling all country music fans! Get ready for the Lainey Wilson Country’s Cool Again Tour!
Photo: Terry Wyatt/Getty Images
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