“The girls are kickin’ down some barn doors and I like it!” Lainey Wilson exclaimed when she won Female Vocalist of the Year at the 60th Academy of Country Music Awards May 8.
But that was only the beginning. By the time Wilson picked up her trophy for the coveted top prize of Entertainer of the Year, the country hitmaker was struggling to find the words.
Wilson, who turns 33 May 19, told the crowd she struggles with “imposters syndrome” sometimes, but said she has come to realize that “if something is given to you, you need to accept it with an open heart and open mind.”
And accept she did- not just Entertainer of the Year and Female Artist of the Year, but also Album of the Year for “Whirlwind,” and Artist-Songwriter of the Year.
Lainey Wilson Takes the ACM Stage with Reba & Miranda
The “4x4xu” artist also performed with country legend and host Reba McEntire and fellow artist Miranda Lambert.
The trio debuted their new single “Trailblazers” about the women who have gone before them in country music.
According to Billboard, Wilson and Lambert wrote the song along with Brandy Clark, sitting on Lambert’s back porch.
And they did it with Reba McEntire in mind, thinking precisely of this trio and this performance.
“We were like, ‘OK, we’re going to do a song with Reba — what kind of song do we write?” recalled Lambert after ACM rehearsals. “We were calling her on the set [of sitcom “Happy’s Place”] and trying to figure out, ‘What’s the right message for this trio? What do we really want to say in three minutes?’”
The three decided they wanted a song about musical influences.
“We were just having a conversation about how both [Lambert and McEntire] have influenced me and passing the torch and blazing trails for each other,” said Lainey Wilson, who came up with the title. “Generation after generation, it’s going to continue, but we got to keep blazing those trails for the next one.”
The song namechecks some of country’s biggest female artists of all time, with the lyric “Dolly and Loretta, Patsy and Tammy too / They gave me a seat at the table and I’m saving one for you.”
Reba McEntire Calls ‘Trailblazers’ Flawless
Miranda Lambert and Lainey Wilson say “Trailblazers” came together quickly.
In fact, Wilson says it felt divinely inspired. “When you’re writing a song and you get that like feeling, it’s like the Holy Spirit feeling. And you just feel it all over your body. Definitely had that.”
But the pair still had butterflies when they sent it to Reba McEntire for her approval.
They needn’t have worried.
“I remember listening to it in the dressing room. I couldn’t find a flaw in it, not a word,” McEntire says. “It was that great. I was very emotional when I heard it.”
Lainey Wilson Gets Emotional After Big Wins
This is the second year in a row that Lainey Wilson has taken home the night’s most coveted prize of Entertainer of the Year.
A behind-the-scenes video posted on the ACM Awards Instagram page shows the singer tearing up as she walks to speak to the press. The caption reads, “An emotional #ACMawards win for @laineywilson — and every bit deserved 🥹🤍”
The singer also got emotional accepting the Female Artist of the Year Award, standing on stage with some of the most legendary female country artists, including Crystal Gayle, Wynonna Judd, Martina McBride, Sara Evans and Gretchen Wilson.
In her acceptance speech, Wilson said, “Woo, my legs are numb. I can’t believe that I’m getting to stand up here with all these ladies that I was influenced by. Every single one of y’all means so much to me.”
Wilson also paid tribute to her fellow nominees, saying, “I just wanna say to every single one of these girls in this category, I couldn’t do this without y’all. I couldn’t. This is a wild ride, and it’s nice to be able to have people to call and relate to. I’m so proud of every single one of y’all … the girls are kicking down some barn doors. Thank you so much, Jesus. … Here’s to the girls!”
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Lainey Wilson’s ‘Whirlwind’ Night at the ACMs