Lainey Wilson’s debut album, Sayin’ What I’m Thinkin’ arrives February 19, but ahead of the release of her new music the Country artist joined RADIO.COM’s Rockin’ Saturday Night with Coop to detail what we can expect from her first project and so much more.
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Wilson jumps in to discuss her single “Neon Diamonds’” which will appear on Sayin’ What I’m Thinkin. The “Things a Man Oughta Know” singer tells us when she shot the music video for “Neon Diamonds” the whole project was as simple as her having her cell phone on the dashboard of the car recording while Lainey and her friends drive through Nashville’s historic Broadway district. “We had so much fun doing it, we were kind of channeling one of my favorite shows, That 70s Show, and golly, I was like ‘I don’t want this to end, let’s just keep on goin’ all night.’”
The 1970s inspired visualizer was all styled by Lainey and her friends. The singer said she told her friends to dress in “throwback” inspired outfits and adds, “they showed up and I didn’t have to do anything. I was like ‘it literally looks like y’all just walked out of That 70s Show.’”
Lainey, who describes her sound as “bellbottom country” tells us “the simplest way for me to explain what bellbottom country is, is Country with a flare.” She continues, “I am a sucker for a good story and I feel like throwback things come with that, throwback songs, throwback clothes, whatever it is. It’s kind of one of those things that is fresh but familiar…. it’s a lifestyle. It’s the way I talk, it’s the way I dress, it’s the way I sing, all of that wrapped up in a little bow.”
Wilson has co-written every track that appears on her upcoming album, interspersing a little bellbottom country into all of her lyrics and sentiments. When asked if there is a specific song on the album that stands out to her most, Lainey lays out for us the idea that, “it kind of changes with the day, I feel like I’m so proud of the album top to bottom, I mean every song, every line, every syllable, the production like I’m just extremely proud of it.”
However, she continues, “but right now for me it would probably be 'Keeping Bars In Business,' which is kind of a crazy title considering we didn’t keep a whole lot of bars in business in 2020. But, the story behind the song is I had just gotten off the road with Morgan Wallen and HARDY on the 'If I Know Me' tour and we were in Denver and I had a Boston Terrier bulldog at the time and she was my baby… she was staying with my parents back in Louisiana and they had to put my dog down and it was terrible.”
The singer continues to explain that after learning about her dog she had to go into the writing room and the team asked how she was doing. Wilson explains that she opened up about having a hard time which lead to everyone discussing the struggles they were all going through while being on tour. “I said ‘the crazy thing is we are struggling with things right now, in our lives, but there could be somebody a mile or two up the road or on the other side of the world who is having the best day of their entire life,’” shares Lainey, explaining that root of the song comes from the “hook line,” “whether you are celebratin’ or your heart’s breakin’ we’re just keepin bars in business.”
Aside from dropping a brand new album, Lainey is consistently active on all forms of social media. The artist frequently shares “Monday motivation” videos for her followers across TikTok and Instagram. “I pick up a phone and I’m like ‘you know what, I could use a little motivation this mornin,’ so that kind of lets me know that like there’s probably a lot of people out there that need someone to get up and go with them this mornin’,” shares Wilson. The “Neon Diamonds” songstress says she often gets in front of the camera and spouts motivational ideas because it helps her just as much as it helps those that are watching.
All around Lainey Wilson is giving us the most. The bellbottom clad, throwback lovin’, Country queen is about to bestow her new 12-track album upon us, but in the meantime, she’s giving us motivational speeches and documenting her musical process across social media. Sayin’ What I’m Thinkin’ is available everywhere on February 19.
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