Lainey Wilson has had a rocket strapped to her back since she released her breakout 2022 album Bell Bottom Country. Since then, she has won several awards including CMA Entertainer of the Year and Female Artist of the Year and a Grammy for Bell Bottom Country. Tonight (May 16), her winning streak continued. She took home Female Artist of the Year at the 2024 ACM Awards.
To make things a little bit more special, Reba McEntire, the ACM Awards host and country icon presented Wilson with the trophy. Wilson took the stage and delivered a speech full of gratitude for the women in country music who have lifted her up along the way.
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Lainey Wilson Accepts the ACM Award for Female Artist of the Year
Clearly excited and laughing, Lainey Wilson held the trophy aloft and said “Reba McEntire just gave me this thing!”
“Speaking of Reba McEntire,” she continued. “I just want to take a minute and I just want to talk about the women in country music. A lot of the women who were in this category specifically are some of my best friends and people who helped pull me over that wall,” she added. “There are so many women in country music who have guided me without even knowing it. Before I ever got a chance to shake their hand and get to know them, they helped me so much.”
Then, she mentioned one of the iconic women in country whom she calls a friend. “It’s crazy to think that me and Wynonna Judd, we talk every week. She sends me devotionals, she lifts me up, she encourages me, she gives me advice,” Wilson said. “And she just asks me how I’m doing and how’s my heart. That’s what it’s about, right there. It’s about lifting each other up and speaking life over each other. We’ve got to do that for each other,” she added. “Iron sharpens iron. This one is for all those women who do that.”
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