Lainey Wilson, who graces the cover of this year's Billboard Country Power Players issue, has established herself as a leading performer, singer, songwriter and entertainer.
She is the reigning Entertainer of the Year at both the CMA Awards and the ACM Awards. in the process of winning the ACM's Female Artist of the Year, Wilson also won the ACM's coveted triple crown for her career – she previously won New Female Artist of the Year in 2022, followed by Female Artist of the Year last year (repeating this year's win in the category).
In recent years, Wilson has won four No. 1 Country Airplay hits, including “Things a Man Oughta Know” and the No. 1 “Watermelon Moonshine” three weeks old.
In addition to her solo efforts, Wilson has become an in-demand collaborator, releasing duets with artists such as Dolly Parton, Wynonna Judd, Keith Urban, Terri Clark, Lauren Alaina, Charlie Worsham and her artist CCM-country Anne Wilson. Her collaboration with Jelly Roll, “Save Me,” not only spent two weeks at No. 1 on the Country Airplay chart, but earned a Grammy nomination for Best Country Duo/Group Performance.
Wilson is steadily piling up his career wins. He had a recurring role Yellowstonewon the Grammy for Best Country album (for her work Bell Bottom Country) in February, and is set to kick off her Country's Cool Again headlining tour on May 31 in Nashville — the same day she opens her new Nashville outlet, Bell Bottoms Up Bar. He's also just been invited by none other than Country Music Hall of Famer Reba McEntire to join the Grand Ole Opry (to be inducted June 7).
Here, we look at 10 of Wilson's top collaborations.
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“Never Say Never” (With Cole Swindell)
Wilson and Swindell scored a two-week Country Airplay No. completely let go of their relational chemistry, either. Swindell wrote the song with Jessi Alexander and Chase McGill.
He said before Advertising sign asking Wilson to be on the song, “He happened to be on vacation somewhere drinking a piña colada. It was the longest three and a half minutes of my life, waiting for him to answer. She's such a great songwriter herself, I knew she'd be a tough critic. But he immediately texted me. He says, “This is so huge. I'm in.'”
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“Praying Woman” (With Anne Wilson)
Lainey Wilson and CCM country artist Anne Wilson (no relation) teamed up for this powerful ode to praying mothers, which appears on Anne Wilson's new album Rebel.
Anne Wilson previously said Advertising sign of the collaboration, “I loved working with her. I met Lainey on Instagram in 2020. Then we met [in person] last year, and we wrote the song on the same day… We were talking about our moms, and we both remember praying a lot when we were kids, kneeling down and praying for things, and we should write a song to honor our moms, and we're talking about what it means to be a woman who prays and believes.”
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“Pieces” (With Muscadine Bloodline)
Stellar collaborations have been an essential part of Wilson's career from the start, judging by this partnership with Muscadine Bloodlinefrom the duo's 2020 EP Turn back time. Wilson co-wrote the song and also provides background vocals on this track, lending support to singer Charlie Muncaster's lead vocals.
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“Mama, He's Crazy” (With Dolly Parton)
Wilson teamed up with Dolly Parton to pay tribute to Country Music Hall of Fame duo The Judds, collaborating on the duo's 1984 classic “Mama, He's Crazy,” written by Kenny O'Dell. The song was included on the 2023 album Tribute to the Judds.
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“Save Me” (With Jelly Roll)
This ballad combines dramatic soul-rock, a timeless story of redemptive pain and confession, and the charismatic voices of Wilson and Jelly Roll. “Save Me” spent two weeks at the top Advertising signof the Country Airplay chart last year and earned a Grammy nomination for Best Duo/Group Performance.
Wilson previously said Advertising sign about recording her part of the song, “I did a few takes and after each one, Jelly got up behind the glass, all good humored, talking about how much she loved it and pushing me before the next take. He has this way about him where he can encourage vulnerability and emotion just through his genuine enthusiasm and the way he lifts you up.”
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“Refugee” (With Wynonna Judd)
Wilson joins forces with Wynonna Judd to cover classic Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers “Refugee” as part of the upcoming Petty Country: A Country Music Celebration of Tom Petty.
In a statement about the recording, Wilson said: “This was one of the coolest experiences of my life. God, every time I tried to use that growl in my voice, I was trying to channel my inner Wynonna. Everyone wants an inner Wynonna.”
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“More Than Friends” (With Lucas Nelson)
This Wilson/Lukas Nelson collaboration was the lead single from Nelson's 2023 album Sticks and stones.
“I thought from the beginning that the song could be a duet, a 'Don't Go Breaking My Heart,'” previously Nelson he said. “And Lainey is the perfect voice. I mean, she's just so good and so talented. I was thankful I got her because when I called her and asked her to do it, she was sitting in her dressing room at the CMA Awards. I was so lucky because later that night she won all these awards, and if I had called her the next day, she might have been very busy! We were fans of each other and it worked out great. Lainey is one of my favorite young artists because she can do it all.”
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“Wait in the Truck” (With HARDY)
This Wilson/HARDY collaboration was released as the lead single from the HARDY album The Mockingbird & The Crow. This intense murder ballad touched on themes of abuse, revenge and freedom and reached No.2 Advertising signMap of Country Airplay. “Wait in the Truck” was certified twice platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. The song also won Musical Event and Visual Media of the Year from the Academy of Country Music, as well as Musical Event of the Year and Video of the Year from the Country Music Association.
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“Would If I Could” (With ERNEST)
This stone partnership of the country was three decades in the making. He was featured on ERNEST's new album Nashville, Tennessee“Would If I Could” was written by Dean Dillon and Skip Ewing.
ERNEST said before Advertising sign of their collaboration, “Ironically, I guess within the same days, Lainey put that song on hold. Found it in Sony's catalog and cut it for an Apple Music session. I texted Lainey and said I was planning to cut the song. He called me and said, “I'll only sing on your record. I will do this song with you.' So it worked so naturally and beautifully, and it wasn't written as a duet, but it turns out to be a great duet.”
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“Handful of Dust” (With Charlie Worsham)
Wilson and singer-songwriter-guitarist Charlie Worsham collaborated on it. Tony Arata-writtenpoetic ballad, which appeared on Worsham's 2023 album Colleagues.
“True love makes worthless worthless/ Whenever it's added to these handfuls of dust,” they sing, reflecting on the life-changing power of love.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/lists/lainey-wilson-best-collaborations-duets/