How Lainey Wilson, an ’11-year overnight sensation,’ became country music’s brightest new star
“When I tell the story I have to be there because it’s a flashback. I’m right there, going ‘ahhhhh.’”
Lainey Wilson
“She’s a singer, artist and a diva,” says Nashville recording artist and Nashville-based publicist Steve Rucker.
And if she’s not the type to scream out a word, then she’s certainly not one to whisper one softly. Which is why when she speaks (and she will, as she says), it’s as powerful as she is.
“I really didn’t know who she was,” laughs Rucker. “And we’d seen her on the show, and it was a really good show. I was just like, ‘She’s a superstar.’ It was a really cool show, and then we learned her name.”
Rucker, who’s worked with country veterans like George Strait, Vince Gill and Alan Jackson as well as many up and coming acts, was the guy who connected Wilson with her record label. She’s worked and toured with many greats, and while she has a few solo projects she also released a duet with Kenny Chesney titled “I Need to Know.”
But she’s ready to do more than just be a singer. “I see myself doing more like a music ambassador,” says Wilson. “I want to expand. I want to be a big-time ambassador for our country, not just country music. I want to help to bring the country to people that maybe haven’t heard it before.”
Wilson’s latest project, the 11-track release “When I Hold Back My Tears,” arrives April 12. Her first single, a single she recorded with a friend in just a few hours, was the title track: “I need to hold back my tears.” This song is a perfect blend of country with a little bit of rock ‘n’ roll and a little bit of pop. Wilson sings about a relationship with a woman whose love is “coming out of nowhere like a train.” It’s the very title track, or “When I Hold Back My Tears,” that has been on her mind for some time.
“I wrote this song before the year was over,” Wilson told The Boot. “When
