Country music artist Lainey Wilson has clinched her first-ever Grammy award for Best Country Album at the 2024 Grammy Awards, a truly remarkable moment for the 31-year-old singer. Her album, Bell Bottom Country, has been a game changer for her career.
In her acceptance speech, Wilson, best known for her song “Watermelon Moonshine,” expressed her gratitude towards everyone involved in the making of the album. She shared her humble beginnings as a fifth-generation farmer’s daughter from a small farming community in northeast Louisiana and related it to her journey in music, referring to herself and her team as “story farmers.”
Wilson described the process of creating music as similar to farming – planting seeds, nurturing them, and eventually reaping the fruits of their labor. This award, she believes, is a testament to the ‘harvest of a lifetime’ she and her team have cultivated.
Wilson was up against other notable country music artists for the award, including Kelsea Ballerini with Rolling Up the Welcome Mat, Tyler Childers with Rustin’ In the Rain, and Brothers Osborne and Zach Bryan with their respective self-titled albums.
Previously in November, Wilson received the Entertainer of the Year award at the 57th annual CMA Awards. She shared her journey of perseverance, playing around 186 shows that year and working tirelessly for 12 and a half years before feeling the love reciprocated by the country music industry.
She also spoke about the significance of the number nine in her life and career – the age when she wrote her first song, got her first pair of bell bottoms, visited Nashville and the Grand Ole Opry for the first time, and when her parents brought home a wild horse named Tex. The experience of trying to tame Tex, she said, prepared her for the wild ride of a career in music.
This momentous win for Lainey Wilson was part of the 66th annual Grammy Awards, broadcast live on CBS from the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.