Since day one, Lainey Wilson has always been true to her roots. After nearly 14 years in the entertainment industry, the country music star has noticed that people are now craving "authenticity" when it comes to cowboy culture – and she's here for it.
In a new interview, the 32-year-old singer-songwriter opened up about fully embracing this new wave of country music, explained how she's been able to stay true to herself amid rising stardom, and shared how her role on the Western TV hit show, "Yellowstone," has changed her life and her career.
"It’s crazy to see how the Taylor Sheridan ["Yellowstone" creator] world has really contributed to everything happening," she told Variety. "It really did something for country music, and it did something for the Western culture in general. Growing up that way, and even putting my cowboy hat on now and putting my jeans on and being around horses or rodeo or whatever it is, I feel at home."
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"People are so sick of things that make them feel anything other than at home," she added. "People are craving that authenticity. I think they’re just over the bulls---."
Wilson, who made her acting debut portraying Abby, a country singer, in season five of "Yellowstone," said she's come a long way since first appearing on the Kevin Costner-led Western.
"I just didn’t even realize how important it really was or how beneficial it was until a couple of my songs ended up on the show," she noted. "Then people would come to shows, even if it was a handful of them. They’d be like, ‘I found you through ’Yellowstone.' And I’m like, ‘OK, these placements are doing something.’"
On landing her role, Wilson said she and Sheridan bonded over a common interest and that eventually sparked a friendship.
"Long story short, Taylor Sheridan and I just became friends," she said. "We met at a horse-reining competition that he does out in Vegas, and we really bonded over horses. I grew up on the back of a horse, and we had a lot in common, and I think it was just kind of a mutual respect for each other. Two completely different worlds, but we were like, ‘Hey, I see you.’"
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"He called me a couple years later and was like, ‘Hey, I’ve got this idea. I want to create a character specifically for you. We’re going to name her Abby. And you’re going to pretty much just kind of be yourself. Maybe you’ll say and do some things that you wouldn’t normally do, but you’re going to be able to dress how you dress and sing your songs.’ It was such a blessing because it really put a face to a name. Especially during a time when people might have known the song on the radio, but they just didn’t know who sang it or what they looked like. That’s what ‘Yellowstone’ did for me."
Wilson, who introduced her signature look of bell-bottoms and big hats back in 2016, said she's always stayed true to her self – despite the ups and downs of societal and cultural standards.
"I knew that the kind of music that I write and do was not cool when I first got here," she said. "It just wasn’t. And just like fashion, things go in style, things go out. But I knew still that I wanted to tell stories and I was like, 'OK, I think things are going to flip back around. I think there’s going to be a time, there’s going to be a need for this specific sound, and if I can just keep trucking along, hopefully I will find my audience.' It’s been one team member at a time for me, it’s been one friendship at a time, one fan at a time, everything. It’s been just really starting from the ground up."
"I’m so thankful for that because to tell you the truth, these past couple years have been so insane and my life has completely changed, but I still feel exactly the same," she added. "I’m so glad that I’ve been here a while and been around the block so things don’t feel as scary. And at the end of the day, you ask and you shall receive, and sometimes it comes tenfold, but a group of people that love me and care about me, we’re all on this journey together, and that’s a cool feeling."
Earlier this year, Wilson spoke with Fox News Digital about her nearly 14-year run in the music business and the challenges she's faced along the way.
"I think a lot of the rejection really just kind of made me want it that much more. I am hardheaded. I really am, and if you could sit down and talk to my parents, you would realize why I am the way that I am," she said. "Both of them, when they have their mind made up, that's it. And I've had my mind made up from the very beginning that I was going to do this."
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Over a decade ago, the "Yellowstone" star packed up her belongings and moved from the 200-person town in Baskin, Louisiana, and headed to Nashville to pursue her dream of being a country music star. In February, Wilson took home her first Grammy.
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"I didn't know what it was going to look like, but I truly do think that that rejection and the time that it has taken me to get to this point, because, I mean, this year it'll be 13 years that I've been in Nashville doing it," Wilson told Fox News Digital.
"I think it's really just a part of my story. And I think the Lord kind of wanted me to live a little bit more life, so I could have more stories to tell, so I could relate to more people," she added. "That's what it's about when you kind of zoom out, and you think about all of this. It's important to remember and realize, why are we doing this? And what are we doing this for?
"It's just because we all want to feel something. And, I think, because of that rejection, I think people can relate to some of my stories."
Fox News Digital's Janelle Ash and Larry Fink contributed to this report.
