It’s a long way to the top from Baskin, Louisiana, and Lainey Wilson is ready to share everything about her journey in her new Hulu special.
“I experienced a lot of rejection, a lot of heartbreak,” says Wilson, 31, in the trailer for Lainey Wilson: Bell Bottom Country. In the first look at her special, coming May 29, the CMA Awards’ Entertainer of the Year shared that though she’s one of the brightest country stars at the moment, she still has “days where you got to do whatever you can to crawl out of those dark holes. You’re going to feel lonely.”
Lainey Wilson: Bell Bottom Country will tell her story, starting with her move to Nashville at age 19 to now and her current success. Wilson felt like a “fish out of water” as she tried to start her career, and at one point, things got bleak.
“At times, I was too country for country,” says Wilson, remarking that at one point, she was living in a trailer, “crying my eyes out, thinking, ‘Is it ever going to happen?’ But mama and daddy didn’t raise no quitter.”
Wilson’s special will also cover her father’s several health issues. Brian Wilson (no relation to the Beach Boys member of the same name) suffered a stroke and a fungal infection that resulted in the removal of his left eye. Lainey breaks down in tears in the trailer when revisiting these “hardest two months of my life.”
After the tears, there is triumph. Lainey will touch upon the 2022 viral moment when clips of her performing in a pair of leopard-print bell bottoms left fans thirsty in the comments. She also will speak about her feelings of winning Album of the Year for Bell Bottom Country, Female Vocalist of the Year and Entertainer of the Year at the 2023 CMA Awards.
Lainey told Us Weekly exclusively that she was “so grateful and incredibly humbled” by the success of Bell Bottom Country. “It’s a blessing to get such a positive response from the fans and my industry peers,” she added. “It doesn’t necessarily mean less stress, but it’s validating, to say the least.”
Good Morning America’s Robin Roberts sits down with Lainey in the Bell Bottom Country special. “I look forward to telling stories about talented women who are strong and authentic,” the newscaster said in a press release. “Lainey is definitely one of those women, and I can’t wait to share her uplifting story with audiences around the world.”
Lainey Wilson: Bell Bottom Country will arrive on Hulu May 29.
