Lainey Wilson has told Newsweek she wants to inspire others to achieve their dreams and how her success didn't happen overnight, after a video of her bringing a young girl on stage went viral.
The 32-year-old country music star's career is on a meteoric rise at the moment, having recently won a Grammy for best country album, a People's Choice Award for female country artist of the year and entertainer of the year at the 2024 Academy of Country Music Awards—just to name a few. Now she's preparing for the launch of her highly-anticipated fifth album, Whirlwind, which will be released on August 23.
Wilson is currently on her Country's Cool Again tour until December 14. Each night she brings a little girl from the audience on to the stage and crowns them "cowgirl of the night." In a video shared to Instagram on July 25, it was the turn of a little girl named Nora to be honored—and Wilson's sweet gesture went viral.
In the clip, Wilson leads Nora in a series of self-affirmations. "It's real easy," Wilson said. "Repeat after me, okay? Say, 'I am beautiful. I am smart. I am talented. I can do anything. I am cowgirl of the night!'" After Nora repeats the lines, Wilson places a black cowboy hat on her head, saying, "You look good too, girl."
"Crowning a cowgirl of the night has been one of my favorite moments on this tour y'all. Nora, you're gonna go far sister," Wilson captioned the video on Instagram and Facebook.
In a conversation with Newsweek, Wilson explained how this special moment came about and said she wants "people to feel like they can do anything." She also opened up about her own self-doubt.
"My mama has always tried to make sure that I speak kind to myself. And that's not easy to do. You know, we have our days, everybody does, but you got to speak it, to believe it, kind of thing. And my job as a musician is to get up there and make people feel something and, and I want people to feel like they can do anything," she said.
"I want these little girls and little boys watching me to know that I worked hard to get to where I am, and nothing happens overnight, and you got to roll your sleeves up and use a little bit of elbow grease to get where you want to go. But I want to spread as much love and light as I possibly can, and I want to share the wisdom that people have shared with me.
"And it's hard getting up every day and saying, 'I'm beautiful, I'm smart, I'm talented, I'm godly, I can do anything.' I just want, I want them to truly think that about themselves."
The country star explained that crowning a "cowgirl of the night" has now become a special moment at all of her shows and it's important to her that she inspires these little girls. As Wilson's star continues to rise, she also wants to make sure she bonds with her young fans.
"It's, it's one of those moments where we get to just really connect. And you can see these, you can see the stars in these little girls' eyes when they're just like, looking up at you, and they're like, 'What is happening right now?'" she explained.
"It seems like by the time they get to the end of the affirmation, like they were kind of nervous in the beginning, but by the time they get to that last line, they're like, shouting it. And that's what I want to see. That's the energy that I want to see."
Country music was one of 2023's fastest-growing streaming genres in the U.S., according to industry data firm Luminate, with country on-demand audio streams exceeding 20 billion, a 23.7 percent increase over the prior year.
Wilson told Newsweek that seeing the genre's popularity is "really incredible."
"For me, country music growing up was more than a genre, it was a way of life, and we eat, sleep and breathe it. To see people really connect to it like I have my entire life, it brings me a lot of pride, you know," she said.
"And not just with country music, but like the Western way of life and everything, to see people want to ride a horse and wear the Wrangler jeans and wear a cowboy hat and all those things, that makes me feel at home. It makes me happy for people to think that maybe they found something that makes them feel at home. Maybe they have not felt that before, and I love it.
"I don't think the genre is slowing down anytime soon. I think it's really just getting started, and I'm very proud to be a part of this generation of country music, for sure."
Once considered "too country" by music executives, Wilson is now a trailblazer in the industry, cleaning up at award shows and selling out concerts. While she is enjoying being at the forefront of the country music scene, there are also aspects of it that are daunting.
"If you really sit around and think about it too much, which I try not to do, it definitely can be a scary thing. But I also know that I was given this gift, and I know that I'm supposed to use it, and that's all I want to do." she said.
"This is the only thing I know how to do. And so it just so happens that I'm getting to do it on a larger scale now, but I'm truly doing what I've always done. And if I was still saying it for 20 people, I'd still be doing this."
Wilson's album, Whirlwind, will be released to the world on August 23, which the singer said is the "most cathartic and personal piece of art" she's ever created.
You can pre-order or pre-save her album here.
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