Country singer Gretchen Wilson is on a roll, but it wasn’t so long ago when she thought about hanging up her microphone for good.
Wilson sat down with “Taste of Country” host Evan Paul to talk about how she got her life back on track after two major health battles.
The singer is fresh off winning Season 13 of “The Masked Singer” as Pearl. And this fall, she’ll star alongside Keith Urban in the upcoming CBS reality series “The Road.”
But there was a time not very long ago that Wilson thought her entertaining days were over.
“I had a rough few years,” Wilson told Paul. “Broken leg, shattered ankle, long-haul COVID, blood pressure, asthma, weight gain and loss, just so many issues in the last few years, I was really starting to question if whether or not I was finished.”
‘The Masked Singer’ Changed Everything
Then she got the call to do “The Masked Singer.”
Wilson said, “I really thought, well, huh, I’m over 50, it’s probably time to hang it up. This is life saying ‘good run but it’s over.’ Then I got the call for this opportunity. It wasn’t the first time they ask. They’d ask several times and I’d said no. And this time I just thought to myself, ‘if I can go out there and do that, then I’ve probably still got a few more years of touring and making music in me.’ And so it really was a test, it was me testing myself. Cause I thought if I can wear that costume, if I can do those dance moves, if I can do that, then I can do the rest of it.”
Gretchen Wilson Was Inspired By Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman
Wilson takes on the role of road manager in the upcoming CBS reality series “The Road” starring Keith Urban. The show is executive produced by Blake Shelton.
Unlike shows like “American Idol” and “The Voice,” the new CBS reality series doesn’t bring contestants to just one stage to perform. Instead, the competition will put 12 competitors to the test as they perform as Keith Urban’s opening acts on tour.
Gretchen Wilson says watching Keith on tour had a huge impact on her. “Keith performed at every one of these shows,” Wilson says. “Just aces. This guy is just — he’s got it together. All I could think every time I was watching him on stage was, ‘I wanna be Keith when I grow up.’”
In fact, Wilson says she told Urban that watching him work made her want to be a better version of herself, calling it a profound experience that will stick with her. “You don’t say that about a lot of people. That you’re just so profoundly moved by how they handle themselves, the way that they execute, their professionalism, I was very impressed with him.”
Wilson also says she spent time with Urban’s wife Nicole Kidman and says, “She’s just beyond sweet. I don’t think a lot of people would guess that. She plays so many different hard women characters. But she was just the sweetest and loveliest thing in the world.”
How to Watch Gretchen Wilson on ‘The Road’
“The Road” will air this Fall on CBS. No debut date has been announced yet.
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Gretchen Wilson Is on a Roll