Lainey Wilson’s Best Country Album Win Places Her Among The Elite List Of Triple Crown Winners

Lainey Wilson added yet another win to her stacked resume of accolades on Sunday evening (Feb. 4) when she walked away from The 66th Annual Grammy Awards as the recipient of this year’s Best Country Album (Bell Bottom Country). This marks Wilson’s third Album of the Year award for this project as it previously took home the title at both the ACM Awards on May 11, 2023 and The CMA Awards on Nov. 8, 2023.

The 2022 album which features No 1 hits “Heart Like a Truck” and “Watermelon Moonshine” alongside her current single “Wildflowers and Wild Horses,” is now one of just nine albums to have completed country music’s coveted “triple crown” by winning all three of these major awards.  

What Other Artists Have Earned This Achievement?

Country music trio, The Chicks, were the first to achieve this feat with their second major-label studio album of 1999, Fly. Next was Various Artists with 2000’s O Brother, Where Art Thou?, which was not nominated in the category of Best Country Album at the GRAMMY’s, however it won two album awards in 2002, on top of the CMA and ACM Awards. 

Taylor Swift was sweeping awards shows before she was even 20 years old. The popular singer completed her triple crown win at the CMA Awards in November 2009 with her sophomore album, Fearless. During the 52^nd GRAMMYs, the project also earned the overall album of the year award in addition to Best Country Album of the Year. 

Miranda Lambert was next to earn the coveted trio of wins with her 2014 fifth major-label album, Platinum, followed by Chris Stapleton who achieved this feat with his first two solo albums – Traveller and From A Room: Volume 1. After Kacey Musgraves snagged her own triple crown with 2018’s Golden Hour, Stapleton found his name on the list once again with 2020’s Starting Over, bringing his total to three triple crown wins so far. 

Lainey Wilson’s Bell Bottom Country was vying for Best Country Album against Kelsea Ballerini’s Rolling Up the Welcome Mat, Tyler Childers’ Rustin’ in the Rain and self-titled albums from Brothers Osborne and Zach Bryan.

Wilson was also up for Best Country Duo/Group Performance for “Save Me” with Jelly Roll, however, she did not collect the win in this category as Zach Bryan and Kacey Musgraves’ “I Remember Everything” was victorious. 

Lainey Wilson Delivers An Emotional Acceptance Speech

The “Watermelon Moonshine” singer was overcome with emotion when she heard her name called as the recipient of Best Country Album award presented by Kacey Musgraves. She stopped to hug her manager and gave Luke Combs a high-five before approaching the mic and delivering her acceptance speech with tears in her eyes. 

“This is absolutely wild y’all. This is my very first GRAMMYS®,” Wilson said.

She went on to thank her producer, Jay Joyce, as well as other collaborators who played a part in bringing this album to life, including her co-writers, the musicians, and more. 

“It has truly changed my life,” Wilson continued. “I am from a farming community in NE Louisiana. A little town of 200 people. I’m a fifth-generation farmer’s daughter and I would consider myself a farmer, too. And everybody that I surround myself with, I think they are farmers, too. They’re story farmers. It’s about getting up every single day and planting those seeds and watering them and watching them grow.”

“And sometimes, when you find the right farming community, you can have a harvest of a lifetime. I truly believe that. I think that is exactly what this is tonight. God bless every single one of y’all. Thank you Jesus. Thank you so much to the Recording Academy. Thank you to my fans. I love y’all so much,” she added in conclusion. 

Hitting The Road This May

Fans can catch Lainey Wilson on the road this year as she embarks on the highly anticipated Country’s Cool Again Tour, beginning May 31 at Nashville’s Ascend Amphitheater.