Lainey Wilson always knew she was born to perform. From singing and dancing for random strangers at the grocery store, making ends meet playing dive bars and now, the biggest stage in Country music - the Baskin, LA native never once doubted whether or not chasing her dream was the right decision.
LISTEN NOW: Lainey Wilson takes a deep dive with 'Broken Record’
Wilson recently opened up about her journey to Country music stardom as she appeared on the Broken Record podcast. From leaving her small town of 180 people to living alone in a camper in Nashville and doing her best to figure out the music industry, it was never an easy journey for Wilson, who fought through it all to see her dreams come true.
“I know for a fact that when I was a little girl… I knew I wanted to do this,” she told Leah Rose. “I knew that like I had a weird sense of peace about knowing that this is what I was supposed to do. That feeling has never gone away. That feeling of like, ‘I really do think that I was created to do this,’ but not just do this. Like I was created to be my sister's sister.”
She continued, “I feel like I have a lot of different purposes and I feel like all of those things, I guess just like remind me that it's just bigger than all of us.”
Being able to live out her purpose has taken a lot of determination and hard work from Wilson, which she says was always made easier by the support of her family. “My parents took me for real. They were like, ’Okay, well, let's figure out what we can do to help her do that [music]… they helped me buy my camper, they helped me haul it to Nashville… Nobody in my area had dreams of doing stuff like this, except for this one guy named Jerry Cupid back in the 70s.”
Cupid, a family-friend that Lainey’s grandfather donated to support his own dream-chasing move to Nashville, was the only familiar face for Lainey upon her arrival following her high school graduation. Wilson credits Cupid’s hospitality and own love for music and songwriting for helping her through her first few years in Nashville and giving her the confidence to continue chasing the dream following his death.
“Once he passed away, I will never forget, like, he walked down the stairs one day. And I just kind of had this feeling,” Lainey recalled. “I just remember him coming down. And he was like, ’If something happens to me, basically, don't let this stop you. Like, I need you to keep going.'”
That’s exactly what Lainey did, and continues to do as she’s now one of the most sought-after Country artists in the world. While she’s experienced numerous #1 songs, tours across the globe and even shared the stage with icons like The Rolling Stones and Dolly Parton, the 32-year-old says it all remains about fulfilling her purpose to share stories.
“I feel like I'm able to kind of put myself into a lot of other people's shoes and write the kind of music that I'm supposed to, to connect with my audience,” she shared. “I still feel like I'm very blessed to be able to speak for the people that maybe feel like they've never been spoken for. And I don't take that lightly. I'll tell you that.”
Hear much more about Lainey’s journey by checking out her entire conversation with Leah Rose on the Broken Record podcast above.