Top CMA Awards Nominee, Lainey Wilson Sets The Stage For ‘Fiery’ ‘Wildflowers And Wild Horses’ Performance

Excitement for the 2023 CMA Awards is building and this year’s top nominee, Lainey Wilson is opening up about her mind-blowing nine nominations as well as her much-anticipated performance. 

“This is year two of being nominated for anything for the CMAs. And we have the most nominations, which completely blows my mind, but nine is my lucky [number],” Wilson shared during CMA Awards rehearsals. “Number nine is the year that I wrote my first song, came to Nashville for the first time, got my first pair of bell bottoms, got my horse. So it’s looking pretty good. It’s feeling good. And I do feel like I’ve got a lot of love and support in this town and I’m feeling supported.”

What CMA Awards Is Lainey Wilson Nominated For?

The Louisiana native is vying for nine trophies: Entertainer Of The Year, Single Of The Year (“Wait In The Truck” with HARDY & “Heart Like A Truck”), Album Of The Year (‘Bell Bottom Country’), Song Of The Year (“Heart Like A Truck”), Female Vocalist Of The Year, Musical Event Of The Year (“Save Me” with Jelly Roll and “Wait In The Truck” with HARDY) and Music Video Of The Year (“Wait In The Truck” with HARDY).

History-Making CMA Awards Nominations

With these impressive nominations, Wilson became the fourth artist in CMA Awards history to receive nine or more nominations in a single year. She follows Merle Haggard and Miranda Lambert as well as Alan Jackson, who holds the record with 10 nominations in 2002.

Among the history-making nominations, the singer/songwriter is also the first artist in 14 years to secure double nominations for Single Of The Year in the same year with “Heart Like a Truck” and her collaboration with HARDY on “Wait in the Truck.” Miranda Lambert was the last artist to achieve such recognition in the category in 2010, when she was nominated for “The House That Built Me” and “White Liar.”

Performing “Wildflowers And Wild Horses”

Wilson is included among the star-studded list of CMA Awards performers set to take the stage during “Country Music’s Biggest Night.” For her performance, the chart-topping superstar will take to the CMA Awards stage with a performance of “Wildflowers And Wild Horses,” a song that she co-wrote alongside Trannie Anderson and Paul Sikes. 

“I’m going to be performing ‘Wildflowers And Wild Horses,’ which is pretty much a nod to where I come from and the people who raised me,” she explained. “I would not be who I am without those folks. So it is just talking about being from a long line of hardheaded tough folks and the kind of people who teach you to pull yourself up by your bootstraps and keep on going, keep your head down.”

While not disclosing too many details of her performance, the 31-year-old teased that it will be “fiery.”

“I’m excited to get out there and sing about the kind of people that I come from… It’s going to be fun. There’s going to be some magic in it that I’m excited for y’all to see with y’all own eyes,” Wilson hinted. 

Excited To Reunite WIth Her Friends

She anticipates that the CMA Awards will be a memorable night as she gets to reunite with her fellow artists, many of whom have become her friends. 

“I’m looking forward to spending the night with my friends. I mean, these people who I’ve been friends with in this town for as long as I can remember, and a lot of the artists who I am brand new friends with, but people who are lifting me up and supporting me and high fiving me and telling me that I can do it,” she explained. “And when you hear it from people like that, you really do feel like, ‘okay, maybe I really do have a shot at this.’”

A Dream Come True

Being a part of the CMA Awards is a dream come true moment for Wilson and it’s something she doesn’t take for granted. 

“Watching the CMA awards was a big deal in my house as a child. I mean, we would sit around the TV, we knew when they were coming on, we would be, I mean, eyes glued to it,” Wilson added. “I would dream about just being a part of the industry and being down there on the floor with these people who I look up to and people who have paved the way.”

She continued, ”now it is crazy how life works because the truth is, I think sometimes you’ve got to envision yourself in certain places and sometimes pretend you are what you’re not really. So one day you can become that and just keep seeing it, seeing it, see it and now these people, they’re my friends, they’re my mentors. They’re people that I can call and get advice from. And I think it’s because I prayed about it and manifested it and put myself there because there was no other option for me.”

Co-hosted by Luke Bryan and Peyton Manning, the 57th Annual CMA Awards will air live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday, Nov. 8 (8:00-11:00 PM/ET) on ABC. The show will also be available to watch the next day on Hulu.