The 2022 ACM Awards haven’t even aired yet and Country newcomers Lainey Wilson and Parker McCollum have already reigned victorious in the New Male and New Female Artist of the Year categories. Miranda Lambert delivered the good news for both Wilson and McCollum with a surprise video call.
LISTEN NOW: Parker McCollum tells Josh, Rachael and Grunwald where he was when he got the good news
“I was at my mom’s house in Forth Worth, about to leave for the airport,” Parker shared with Audacy’s Josh, Rachael and Grunwald about where he was when he got the news. “Popped open my computer and the video popped up and Miranda Lambert was on there… I couldn’t believe it!”
Lainey was just as shocked to get the news as her label made her believe she was doing an interview with a TV station in Vegas.
LISTEN NOW: Lainey Wilson tells Josh, Rachael and Grunwald how she received the good news
“I thought I was doing a Zoom interview with a TV station out here in Vegas and all of a sudden I click the Zoom link and I see Miranda like pop up. I was like, ‘I think I might’ve clicked on the wrong link!’”
Much to Lainey’s surprise it was the right link and that call revealed one of the biggest moments of her career thus far.
“We sat there and we cried together, it was a moment I’ll never forget,” Lainey said after sharing that Miranda has been a big mentor for her and supported her through hateful comments on the Internet.
“I went to her and I was like, ‘How do you deal with this?’” Lainey said after she noticed more users leaving ugly comments on her social media. “She [Miranda] said, ‘Lainey, at the end of the day, you need to just be OK with what your mama thinks about you, what your daddy thinks about you, what your best friends think about you.”
Lainey says she’s taken the advice to heart as she no longer allows herself to find self worth in comments left on the Internet — good or bad.
Listen to your favorite Country music now on Audacy and check out Audacy's ACM Nomination Station
“I need to just be OK with myself and who I am at the end of the day… that’s what it’s about.” Amen!
What Lainey’s doin’ seems to be working! Take that - haters!
Tune in to the 57th Annual ACM Awards, hosted by Dolly Parton, Gabby Barrett and Jimmie Allen, live from Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Monday, March 7 at 8PM ET/7PM CT. For the first time in ACM Awards history, the show will be exclusively broadcast live via Amazon’s Prime Video.
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