{"id":256,"date":"2024-07-12T14:53:38","date_gmt":"2024-07-12T14:53:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/?p=256"},"modified":"2024-07-12T14:53:38","modified_gmt":"2024-07-12T14:53:38","slug":"lainey-wilson-talks-taylor-swift-and-dolly-parton-and-sends-a-message-to-the-frogs-shes-kissed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/?p=256","title":{"rendered":"Lainey Wilson talks Taylor Swift and Dolly Parton \u2014 and sends a message to the \u2018frogs\u2019 she\u2019s kissed"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was a country-girl summer takeover when\u00a0Lainey Wilson<\/span><\/span>\u00a0performed for TODAY\u2019s\u00a0Citi Concert Series\u00a0on June 25. Holding up signs and outfitted in cowboy hats, a sea of fans were there for it.<\/p>\n

Among them? Melissa and Greg Steber, who brought their daughter, Bella, to the\u00a0TODAY plaza\u00a0on an early Tuesday morning to see Wilson sing her hits.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe got up at 1 a.m. and headed here to see Bella\u2019s girl, Lainey,\u201d said Melissa Steber, explaining her family made the two-hour trek from Drums, Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The Steber family attend Lainey Wilson\u2019s TODAY Citi Concert Series performance. (TODAY)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cShe inspires me every day and I love her so much because I\u2019m a musician just like her and a singer,\u201d gushed Bella, who said that while she loves all of Wilson\u2019s tunes, her favorite is probably \u201cCountry\u2019s Cool Again.\u201d<\/p>\n

The song fittingly sums up the current sentiment in\u00a0popular music, which is, country\u00a0is<\/em>\u00a0cool again, and Wilson is one of its fastest-rising stars.<\/p>\n

With warm sunshine lighting up the plaza, Wilson had the crowd singing and dancing to fan favorites like \u201cWatermelon Moonshine,\u201d \u201cWildflowers and Wild Horses\u201d and \u201cHeart Like a Truck.\u201d<\/p>\n

She also performed \u201cHang Tight Honey\u201d and \u201cCountry\u2019s Cool Again,\u201d two tracks off Wilson\u2019s latest album, titled \u201cWhirlwind,\u201d which is slated for release on Aug. 23.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Lainey Wilson TODAY concert, 2024. (Nathan Congleton \/ TODAY)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

During her performance, Wilson told TODAY\u2019s co-hosts that the title of the new album was inspired by her recent success, which has been nothing short of, well,\u00a0a whirlwind.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what my life has been the last couple years, truly,\u201d said Wilson.<\/p>\n

Since her first hit, \u201cThings A Man Oughta Know,\u201d charted in 2021, Wilson has steadily climbed the ranks, as well as generated buzz for her portrayal of Abby, a country music singer, in the popular TV series \u201cYellowstone.\u201d<\/p>\n

In February, Wilson took home a\u00a0best country album Grammy\u00a0for her fourth studio album, \u201cBell Bottom Country,\u201d and in May, she qualified for the Academy of Country Music\u2019s triple crown award after accruing ACM wins for new female artist of the year, female artist of the year and entertainer of the year during her career, a feat only nine other artists have ever accomplished, including Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood.<\/p>\n

Whirlwind? Yes, indeed.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Lainey Wilson TODAY concert, 2024. (Nathan Congleton \/ TODAY)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As part of this year\u2019s Citi Concert Series, TODAY.com sat down with Wilson, who agreed to answer questions for\u00a0our original video series \u201c8 Before 8,\u201d\u00a0a Q&A session with each of our featured Citi artists.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how it works: TODAY.com asks eight questions, and performers have the option to skip one if they prefer not to answer.<\/p>\n

The hitch? If they choose to bypass a question, they must take a shot instead. Since it\u2019s morning and all, the choices of shots consist of ginger, wheatgrass or electrolytes rather than whiskey or wine.<\/p>\n

Naturally, we tossed in a couple of questions we thought Wilson might take a pass on, including whom she wrote \u201cWatermelon Moonshine\u201d about, as well as revealing her biggest celebrity crush.<\/p>\n

However, in true Lainey Wilson spirit, she good-naturedly answered them all without hesitation, no shot needed.<\/p>\n

Read on to find out what she had to say.<\/p>\n

1. Among female country greats, whose footsteps would you like to follow?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

I feel like I like to pull, like, bits and pieces from a little bit of all of my heroes, but I\u2019ve gotten to spend some time with Dolly Parton and, you know, everybody says, \u201cDon\u2019t meet your heroes.\u201d But that does not count for Dolly Parton. I mean, she truly is even better once you get to know her, and she\u2019s just got a heart of gold. And the way that she just carries herself, and she has this light about her that I think all of us should want to have and share with other people.<\/p>\n

2. As a Hannah Montana impersonator, which song was your favorite to cover?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

So, yes. I impersonated Hannah Montana from eighth grade to 12th grade. And I had the best of both worlds because I would open up the show as Lainey Wilson before I would go backstage and put on my wig and be Hannah Montana. So, I think my favorite song that I covered of hers was, it has to be \u201cBest of Both Worlds.\u201d That\u2019s the one that all the kids would get so pumped up about. And I have not got to meet Miley just yet, but we got a lot in common.<\/p>\n

3. Who did you have in mind when you wrote \u201cWatermelon Moonshine\u201d?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Eeny, meeny, miny, moe! Look, I\u2019ve had to kiss some frogs to find the one that I\u2019m with now. Let\u2019s just leave it at that, all right? And y\u2019all, probably some of these frogs are watching this right now \u2014 you know you a frog.<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0How does it feel knowing Taylor Swift is a fan of yours?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

It is\u00a0really<\/em>\u00a0cool that Taylor Swift is a fan of me. I\u2019ve always been a fan of hers. I saw her at CMA Fest when I was, like, 14, I think she was 16 years old. She was playing on the Riverfront Stage. And I actually got an opportunity to tell her, I said, \u201cI was at your show!\u201d And she said, \u201cThere was, like, 10 people there.\u201d And I said, \u201cWell, me and my family, we were a part of the 10!\u201d<\/p>\n

I\u2019m just a huge fan of what she does. But, most importantly, her work ethic, I think she\u2019s just a lady that a lot of folks should look up to.<\/p>\n

5.\u00a0Which country artist would you love to write a song for?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

There are\u00a0so<\/em>\u00a0many people that I would love to write music for. I know a lot of my artist friends in country music, they write a lot of their own stuff, so maybe we could write something together? But when it comes to Eric Church, Chris Stapleton, those are some of my favorites. My goodness, there\u2019s so many people in this genre right now that are incredible songwriters, incredible singers. They all have their own thing. I\u2019m proud to be a part of this generation of country music and I\u2019d love to write songs for all of them.<\/p>\n

6. Who is your celebrity crush?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Celebrity crush. Hmmm. See, I\u2019m all about humor. Like, that\u2019s what makes somebody cute to me. So, Matthew McConaughey, of course. I mean, he ain\u2019t just funny, he\u2019s good-looking, too. So, there you go. Ashton Kutcher, yeah.<\/p>\n

7.\u00a0If you could work with anyone, past or present, who would it be?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

That\u2019s a hard one because there\u2019s a lot of people that I would like to collaborate with. But I think it\u2019d be really cool to do something with Elvis, Loretta Lynn. The list goes on and on and on. But, those two come to mind.<\/p>\n

8. With each Citi Concert, we ask performers to leave a question for the next artist, as well as answer a question from the previous one.<\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

Meghan Trainor was the most recent artist on the plaza, she had a question for Lainey:\u00a0Lainey, I have s<\/em>o many questions for you. Are you nervous for today? Are you excited? This is gonna be your favorite concert ever. Also, do you ever want babies someday? That\u2019s a weird question. Do you ever want babies someday? I can help you out. Not like that. But I can be there for you. Ohhh, I love you. Let\u2019s be friends!<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n

Awww, I love her, too. I wanna be your friend! Let\u2019s be friends! What are we waiting on? My goodness.<\/p>\n

Excited? Nervous? Yes. I\u2019m always nervous about shows though. I mean, whether I\u2019m playing for 20 people, 20,000, it does not matter. I think that\u2019s because I truly care and the \u201cnew\u201d has not worn off and I\u2019ve been doing this my whole life and I hope it never does.<\/p>\n

And, yeah, I do, I do want kids one day. I got, you know, some things to do and I want some more years under my belt. But when I do have a family, I\u2019ll call you, Meghan, and I\u2019ll get some, some tips.<\/p>\n

The artist that hits the Citi Concert stage after you is Gracie Abrams.<\/strong><\/h2>\n

I\u00a0love<\/em>\u00a0Gracie.<\/p>\n

Well, that\u2019s wonderful, because now you get to forward a question to her. What would you like to ask?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Gracie: First of all, I get so excited when you text me and I see your name flash up on my phone. We\u2019re like each other\u2019s hype girl, truly. And I know that we come from, like, two different parts of the world, two different walks of life. And I think it is so cool that we can cheer each other on and love on each other, being so different from each other.<\/p>\n

But, my question for you is: When are we gonna let those worlds collide? When are we gonna do something together? You got my number. Holla at your sister!<\/p>\n

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It was a country-girl summer takeover when\u00a0Lainey Wilson\u00a0performed for TODAY\u2019s\u00a0Citi Concert Series\u00a0on June 25. Holding up signs and outfitted in cowboy hats, a sea of fans were there for it. … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-256","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=256"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":260,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256\/revisions\/260"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=256"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=256"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=256"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}