Lainey Wilson

Biography

Lainey Denay Wilson (born May 19, 1992) is an American singer-songwriter. She performed at an early age, before going to Nashville to pursue a career as a country music performer. Grammy Award winner, she was recognized with sixteen Academy of Country Music Awards and twelve Country Music Association Awards, including winning their top honor Entertainer of the Year in 2023 and 2025.
In 2014, she released her self-titled debut album on Cupit Records, followed by her second album Tougher×Tougher8 April 2016 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Gravel4:222Caught on Fire3:063Indian Giver3:214I Make Myself4:345Two Sides of Bad2:506One Night Stand3:397Let Me Be Your Jesus3:558Bright Side3:139Tougher3:3910Where My House Stood3:53 on Lone Chief in 2016. Wilson secured a publishing deal and later released an extended play (EP) in 2019 which included the song "Things a Man Oughta Know×Things a Man Oughta Know28 July 2020 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Things a Man Oughta Know3:52". In 2020, it was issued as a single through the BBR Music Group and reached number one on the American country songs chart, releasing her third album Sayin' What I'm Thinkin'×Sayin' What I'm Thinkin'19 February 2021 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Neon Diamonds3:072Sunday Best3:133Things a Man Oughta Know3:234Small Town, Girl3:025LA2:506Dirty Looks3:157Pipe2:498Keeping Bars in Business3:459Straight Up Sideways2:5610WWDD2:2011Rolling Stone3:5912Sayin’ What I’m Thinkin’3:22 in 2021.
Wilson fourth studio album Bell Bottom Country×Bell Bottom Country28 October 2022 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 14 tracks1Hillbilly Hippie3:322Road Runner3:473Watermelon Moonshine3:294Grease3:075Weak‐End3:296Me, You, and Jesus3:427Hold My Halo3:268Heart Like a Truck3:199Atta Girl3:2710This One’s Gonna Cost Me3:1411Those Boots (Deddy’s Song)2:5112Live Off3:3613Wildflowers and Wild Horses4:1114What’s Up (What’s Going On)3:54 (2022) become her first Billboard 200 charting album, being recognized at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards for Best Country Album. In 2024 she published fifth album Whirlwind×Whirlwind23 August 2024 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 15 tracks · 2 discsDisc 1A1Keep Up With Jones3:49A2Country's Cool Again3:38A3Good Horses3:58A4Broken Hearts Still Beat2:48B1Whirlwind4:00B2Call A Cowboy3:47B3Hang Tight Honey3:10B4Bar In Baton Rouge5:07Disc 2C1Counting ChickensC24X4XUC3Ring FingerD1Middle of ItD2Devil Don't Go ThereD3Whiskey Colored CrayonD4Whirlwind (Stripped), becoming her most successful album on the international charts, including placements in the United Kingdom and Australia, and her first top-ten entry on the Billboard 200.
In 2022, she made her TV series debut in Yellowstone playing the part of Abby. In 2024, she was in the country music documentary Rebel Country. In 2026, she made her film debut in the film adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s book Reminders of Him, where she played Amy Matthews. Wilson also wrote and performed the original song "Out of Oklahoma×Out of Oklahoma20 June 2024 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Out of Oklahoma3:28" from Twisters (2024), being nominated at the Society of Composers & Lyricists Awards and Guild of Music Supervisors Awards.

Early life and education

Lainey Denay Wilson was born on May 19, 1992 and raised in Baskin, Louisiana, a town of 170 people. Her father, Brian, was a farmer while her mother, Michelle, was a schoolteacher. She also has a sister, Janna. She became interested in music at a young age. Her family often listened to classic country music by Buck Owens and Glen Campbell.
At age nine, she attended a performance of the Grand Ole Opry and was drawn to the music. Wilson's father taught her a couple of chords and she was writing songs by her pre-teen years.
In 2006, she released an EP on Myspace titled Country Girls Rule. In high school, Wilson took a job impersonating Hannah Montana. Often booking her own shows, she performed as Hannah Montana at birthday parties, fairs, and festivals across Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas, even once performing for child cancer patients at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

2011–2018: Early years in Nashville and independent releases

Wilson graduated from high school and moved to Nashville in August 2011. She first lived in a camper trailer outside of a recording studio in Nashville. The studio owner paid for Wilson's water and electricity to help make ends meet. In 2021, Wilson said that her early years in Nashville were difficult: "It taught me that this thing was not going to be easy. It taught me perseverance." For several years, Wilson played a variety of small shows and worked on her songwriting. In 2014, she released a self-titled album on the Cupit label. It was followed in 2016 by Tougher, on the Lone Chief label. The project garnered an audience and made the Billboard Top Country Albums chart. Wilson also performed with Kasey Tyndall as members of the duo Loretta Jett, including a November 2016 show at the Mercury Ballroom in Louisville, Kentucky. In 2018, she released her second EP, a self-titled collection that was self-released. It led to her signing a publishing deal with Sony/ATV in 2018. Also in 2018, she also signed a management deal.

2019–2021: Breakout success with "Things a Man Oughta Know"

In 2018, Wilson signed a major-label recording contract with the BBR Music Group. Her first major-label release was her third EP Redneck Hollywood×Redneck Hollywood13 September 2019 · EPSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracks1Straight Up Sideways2:582Dirty Looks3:163Things a Man Oughta Know3:264LA2:50 (2019). Her debut major label single was also released in 2019: "Dirty Looks". Off the Record UK praised the EP, highlighting Wilson's songwriting and the production from producer Jay Joyce. The publication said, "The EP is raw and real, pushing the country music genre wider than ever and bringing it back to the traditional while still reinventing it to its modern surroundings." Next she received attention from Country Music Television, who included her in their "Listen Up" Class of 2019 and on their "2019 CMT Next Women of Country" tour. She also toured with Morgan Wallen in 2019. During this same period, several of her songs were featured in the Paramount Network show Yellowstone.
In August 2020, the BBR label issued Wilson's next single to radio: "Things a Man Oughta Know×Things a Man Oughta Know28 July 2020 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Things a Man Oughta Know3:52". The track gained heavy media attention from sites like YouTube, Apple Music, iHeart Radio, Spotify, and Pandora. By 2021, "Things a Man Oughta Know" became her breakout single, reaching number one on Billboard Country Airplay and number three on Hot Country Songs. It was included on her third studio album Sayin' What I'm Thinkin'×Sayin' What I'm Thinkin'19 February 2021 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Neon Diamonds3:072Sunday Best3:133Things a Man Oughta Know3:234Small Town, Girl3:025LA2:506Dirty Looks3:157Pipe2:498Keeping Bars in Business3:459Straight Up Sideways2:5610WWDD2:2011Rolling Stone3:5912Sayin’ What I’m Thinkin’3:22 (2021). The disc was her first full-length album issued on BBR and contained 12 tracks. It was her second to reach the Billboard country albums chart, peaking at number 40. The disc received positive reviews. "Beyond writing and recording songs that satisfy country music fans, she succeeds at introducing her whole self through the music," concluded Taste of Country's Billy Dukes. Entertainment Focus commented, "The rising star knocks it out of the park with her new album."
Wilson appeared as a supporting act on Jason Aldean's "Back in the Saddle Tour" in 2021. The same year, Wilson collaborated with Cole Swindell on his single "Never Say Never×Never Say Never17 November 2021 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Never Say Never2:54". The duet was released as the second single from Swindell's fourth studio album Stereotype, and became Wilson's second single to top the Billboard country chart.

2022–present: Acting debut and Whirlwind

It was followed by her 2022 solo single titled "Heart Like a Truck×Heart Like a Truck19 May 2022 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Heart Like a Truck3:19", then the album Bell Bottom Country×Bell Bottom Country28 October 2022 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 14 tracks1Hillbilly Hippie3:322Road Runner3:473Watermelon Moonshine3:294Grease3:075Weak‐End3:296Me, You, and Jesus3:427Hold My Halo3:268Heart Like a Truck3:199Atta Girl3:2710This One’s Gonna Cost Me3:1411Those Boots (Deddy’s Song)2:5112Live Off3:3613Wildflowers and Wild Horses4:1114What’s Up (What’s Going On)3:54. Wilson received a leading six nominations at the 56th Annual Country Music Association Awards, becoming the fourth artist to receive six or more nominations as a first-time nominee. Wilson also joined the cast of Yellowstone in 2022, with some of her songs also being featured in the series. She was a co-writer on the 2023 single "Chasing Tornadoes" by fellow country artist MacKenzie Porter. Wilson received a leading nine nominations at the 57th Annual Country Music Association Awards in 2023, winning five including the top honor Entertainer of the Year. She was the first woman to win Entertainer of the Year since Taylor Swift in 2009. In 2024, she featured on Keith Urban's song "Go Home W U".
On May 9, 2024, Wilson announced that her fifth album Whirlwind×Whirlwind23 August 2024 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 15 tracks · 2 discsDisc 1A1Keep Up With Jones3:49A2Country's Cool Again3:38A3Good Horses3:58A4Broken Hearts Still Beat2:48B1Whirlwind4:00B2Call A Cowboy3:47B3Hang Tight Honey3:10B4Bar In Baton Rouge5:07Disc 2C1Counting ChickensC24X4XUC3Ring FingerD1Middle of ItD2Devil Don't Go ThereD3Whiskey Colored CrayonD4Whirlwind (Stripped) was released on August 23, 2024. "Hang Tight Honey×Hang Tight Honey13 May 2024 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Hang Tight Honey" was released as its lead single to country radio on May 20, 2024. That same month, Wilson was featured on a new version of "Poor Poor Pitiful Me" with Terri Clark, from Clark's album Terri Clark: Take Two. In 2024, Whirlwind was nominated for Grammy Award for Best Country Album at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards, to take place in 2025. Wilson's "Out of Oklahoma×Out of Oklahoma20 June 2024 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Out of Oklahoma3:28" won Best Music Video at the 15th Hollywood Music in Media Awards. In 2026, Wilson made her feature film acting debut in Reminders of Him, a film adaptation of Colleen Hoover's novel of the same name. On April 17, 2026, she released "Younger You" with Miley Cyrus, a duet version of Cyrus's single.

Influences

Wilson's musical style is rooted in country music, but also incorporates elements of pop, southern rock, contemporary country, and classic country. In describing her music, AllMusic's Mark Deming commented, "Wilson's voice is clear and strong, with an unapologetic Southern accent, and her songs are tough but heartfelt contemporary country with an edge that has its roots in vintage Southern rock and classic rock, as well as a dash of modern-day pop." In describing her own musical style, Wilson characterized it as "bell-bottom country", which Taste of Country called "a cross between easy listening and hard truths." Wilson has been heavily influenced by Dolly Parton, paying tribute to her in the self-composed track "WWDD" (What Would Dolly Do). Wilson credits Lee Ann Womack as an influence on her career and music.

Personal life

In 2022, Wilson's father, Brian Wilson, experienced severe health issues including a stroke and a fungal infection which resulted in the removal of his left eye. This all occurred while she was filming her first season on Yellowstone. Wanting to be closer to him, she considered quitting the show. However, her father encouraged her to continue filming regardless of his health outlook. He eventually recovered and was seen accompanying her on the red carpet at the 56th CMA Awards.
In late 2022, Wilson became the subject of a viral trend that occurred on social media, predominantly on TikTok. A video of her performing at a concert spread very quickly on the platform. As a result of the angle of the camera and the leopard print pants Wilson was wearing, users felt the video was very flattering to the size and shape of her buttocks. The resulting trend saw users posting additional videos, pictures, and comments expressing admiration for Wilson's figure. For her part, Lainey acknowledged the trend and has largely responded to it with good humor. She made several jokes about it and also expressed hope that many people who only knew about her because of the posts would be inspired to listen to her music and become fans.

In May 2023, Wilson was confirmed to be in a relationship with former NFL quarterback Devlin "Duck" Hodges. Wilson later revealed in an interview with The Bobby Bones Show that she and Hodges had been dating for over two years prior to the public knowing about it. Both Hodges and Wilson support the Pittsburgh Steelers, because Hodges used to play quarterback for them. In February 2025, Wilson and Hodges announced their engagement. On May 10, 2026, the pair married.
On May 31, 2024, Wilson opened Bell Bottoms Up, a three-story bar, Cajun restaurant and music venue in downtown Nashville.
Wilson is a long-time supporter of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.