Lainey Wilson Zooms Out On Last Few Years

Author Nancy Brooks // Country Writer, Beasley Media Group

June 10th 10:31 PM

Lainey Wilson is country music’s “it girl” right now. At this year’s CMA Fest, she kept busy all weekend long, which included a CMA Fest performance at Nissan Stadium on Saturday night (6/8).

Backstage, before her performance, she recapped her wonderful year in country music in which she was crowned Entertainer of the Year by the CMA and the ACM. She told us, “We’ve been trying to zoom out as much as we can to really see how far we have come in a short amount of time. Like, don’t count the thirteen years I’ve been here, but let’s talk about the last couple. It’s been crazy.”

The country superstar also touched on how it all began with her father and six strings. She said, “My daddy showed me a few chords on a guitar, and that was it for me. It just ran in my soul; it ran in my blood.”

Wilson reiterated what she’s been saying about her beloved genre for a while now. She offered, “Country music is having a moment, and I don’t think it’s slowing down anytime soon. And I’m not talking about just country music—of course, everyone wants to be a part of the genre, and I think that’s awesome—but more importantly, the Western way of life. The culture, the way I grew up on a horse and wearing jeans. It’s really cool to see people start embracing that way of life.”

She concluded, “I take a lot of pride in it, and a lot of people that grew up like me take a lot of pride in it.”

Lainey’s CMA Fest weekend started on Friday (6/7), when she was inducted and made a member of the Grand Ole Opry.

Wilson also managed to get some face-to-face time with fans as she signed autographs at her new bar in downtown Nashville.

She posted her to-do list on her Instagram, along with photos of herself meeting fans. She captioned the post, “It feels like Christmas Eve y’all!! #CMAfest is my favorite time of the year, and the best part is getting to meet you and hug y’all’s necks. So that’s what we’re gunna do come Sunday, June 9!”

Wilson continued, “I’m opening up the @bellbottomsupbar doors and holding a special all-day signing affair starting at 1 pm. Get there early and be ready to stay late ’cause y’all know I have some special surprises up my sleeve.”

Lainey’s two-and-a-half million Instagram fans were overjoyed with the news. One fan wrote, “I just have so much love and respect for you.” One more die-hard said, “Can’t wait. Love you so much, sister.”

See that post here.

Nancy Brooks has been working in the country music industry for almost 30 years. She has interviewed pretty much any country star you can think of. In the late 1990s, she started working with Dolly Parton. And yes, Nancy reports that Parton is as sweet as you would think. She loves her life in country music and has been backstage at every CMA Awards show since the late 1990s. Many of her stories are from her one-on-one interviews. She was there at the beginning of the incredible careers of many music superstars today, including Taylor Swift, Shania Twain, and Blake Shelton, and has interviewed them multiple times throughout the years.

6 Of The Best Country Music Videos of All Time

Carrie Underwood –"Before He Cheats" (2006)
This is the song Carrie closed her shows with and is the song she is most recognized for. The music video of the song tells the story of revenge so well as Carrie’s character sashes tires and beats her former cheating boyfriend’s truck with a baseball bat (a Louisville slugger).

The video was filmed in downtown Nashville Printer’s Alley, a once popular spot in Nashville that now has bars and clubs where up-and-coming country singers can play their songs with hopes of being discovered.

Underwood passionately sings the song in the video, walking through the streets as people around her look and windows shatter. She carries the bat through much of this classic video.

“Before He Cheats” won Video of the Year at the ACMs in 2006. It won the CMT Music Award for Video of the Year in 2007.
The Chicks (formerly the Dixie Chicks) "Goodbye Earl" - (2000)
The Chicks made their exit from country music after some political controversy, but before that happened, they made this video, an absolute gem.

The video features Hollywood actresses Jane Krakowski and Lauren Holly as Wanda and Mary Ann, lifelong friends who got together and killed Wanda’s abuser. NYPD Blue actor Dennis Franz played the abuser and murder victim. The Chicks met the actor while appearing on The Rosie O’Donnell Show and asked him to be in a future video.

Say what you want about The Chicks; this video is epic and for sure one of the best country music videos of all time. The video came out before the CMT Music Awards began in 2002, or I believe it would have won the top honor for sure.

The video won a CMA Award in 2000 for Music Video of the Year. It was the same year the Dixie Chicks won the coveted Entertainer of the Year from the CMA.
Dierks Bentley - "Drunk On A Plane" (2015)
Dierks’s sense of humor shines in this fun video that features Bentley playing himself in the plane, signing autographs for some ladies at one point and playing guitar and singing as the song’s character gets drunk on a plane taking a honeymoon trip alone as his wife to be dumped him.

Dierks also plays the plane’s pilot (he is an actual pilot who flies himself to his own concert dates all over the country). As the pilot, he dons a pilot hat, jacket, and sunglasses.

During that time, I attended the number one party in Nashville for “Drunk On A Plane,” where everyone was given a pilot hat and sunglasses like in the video.

Bentley is a fun guy, and this music video was as entertaining as any in-country music. I believe it is one of the best country music videos of all time.
Shania Twain - "Man, I Feel Like A Woman!" (1997)
This music video is like no other in country music and this is the song that made Shania a household name. The video has been viewed more than 400 million times on YouTube.

Twain’s style and dressing in drag, then shedding her coat and tie to dance around and sing the women’s anthem to perfection, is what makes Shaina stand out even today. The song and video are just as popular today as they were when they first came out over 25 years ago!

Having eye candy men dressed in tight, shiny black pants and see-through shirts dancing and playing guitar behind her in the video set the stage for one of country music’s most recognized and best music videos ever.

Two years after releasing this song and music video in 1999, Twain was crowned the CMA’s Entertainer of the Year.
HARDY with Lainey Wilson - "Wait In The Truck" (2022)
This music video is like a movie telling the story of a character killing an abuser of his friend. Lainey’s performance as the abused woman “waiting in the truck” is worthy of an Emmy for sure. Wilson is also in scenes where her character testifies in court and visits HARDY in prison.

The video won Music Video Of The Year and Musical Event of the Year at the 2023 CMA Awards in Nashville. It also won an ACM Award in 2022 for Visual Media (Video) of the Year.

It was nominated for CMT Music Video of the Year but lost out to Kane and Katelyn Brown’s “Thank God” video.
Reba McEntire - "Fancy' (1992)
This is one of the best story videos of all time in any genre of music, in my opinion. Reba is near perfect in the role of Fancy, a now famous star who grew up pleasing men at the instruction of her mother to survive.

The video starts with Fancy Rae Baker coming home to the “Outskirts of New Orleans” to the shack she grew up in. A cab driver is starstruck as he drives Fancy, wearing a fur coat, hat, and sunglasses, looking like a movie star, to her old home.

The song starts, and Fancy flashes back to tell her tale as Reba sings the song in the old shack.

Surprisingly, the music video did not win any awards. Reba did win the Video of the Year award from the ACM for her 1991 video “Is Their Life Out There?” and in 1986 for her “Whoever’s In New England” music video.