Lainey Wilson

When any starry-eyed country music hopeful packs up their life and moves to Music City, they're often moulded, sculpted and pulled in every which way by label execs in order to build a specific ‘brand’.

From Lainey's breakout album, Sayin' What I'm Thinkin', to her hit 2022 record, Bell Bottom Country, she's maintained a distinct determination to stay true to her roots. Many artists sing about their down-home upbringing as a marketing device, but for Lainey, it's always been the truth - all she needed was three chords to accompany it.

She grew up in a camper trailer in rural Baskin, Louisiana, and stormed onto the scene with her reflective 2021 single, ‘Things A Man Oughta Know’. The track earned Lainey a No. 1, a Platinum certification and the award for ACM Song of the Year. Alongside this, Lainey also picked up the ACM New Female Artist of the Year prize.

It didn't take long for Nashville to warm to Lainey's honeyed drawl and traditionally-minded yet contemporary sound. Billboard named Lainey as their Top New Country Artist of 2021, while CMT championed her as the 2022 Breakout Artist of the Year.

If 2021 was Lainey's take-off, then 2022 saw Lainey rocketing into country's galaxy of modern-day stars. Two successful collaborations set the ball rolling. Her Cole Swindell assisted single, ‘Never Say Never’, became Lainey's second No. 1 in April 2022, while her dark, ominous HARDY duet, ‘wait in the truck’, sent ripples across Radnor Lake and quickly became one of the most notable tracks of the year.

This laid the foundation for the October 2022 release of Bell Bottom Country. The project spawned singles such as ‘Heart Like A Truck’ and ‘Live Off’, both of which embody the unpretentious, small-town way of life that continues to inspire so much of Lainey's music.

Often, Lainey Wilson's sound of choice is fun, playful and swaggering, while at other times, it's beautifully poignant and heartfelt. But whichever sonic playbook she chooses to draw from, one thing's for sure - it's always going to be unmistakably, unashamedly and unwaveringly Lainey.