Lainey Wilson Breaks Barriers — Joins Reba & Dolly as One of the Only Solo Female Hosts in CMA History.LC
On Nov. 19, a bell bottom-wearin,’ watermelon moonshine-drinkin’ Louisiana girl will make CMA Awards history.
Lainey Wilson will become the third woman to solo host the Country Music Awards, following in the footsteps of Dolly Parton in 1988 and Reba McEntire in 1991.
“I got some big ol’ shoes to fill, so I don’t take it lightly,” the 33-year-old country singer said at a Nov. 16 press conference in Nashville.
“I texted Reba last night and I said, ‘If you have one piece of advice to give me going into this week, what would it be?’ … she sent me a list. I was like ‘whoa, whoa, whoa!'”
The “Heart Like A Truck” artist hosted the ceremony last year alongside Luke Bryan and Peyton Manning.
This will be her first time hosting the biggest night in country music alone. This year’s show, the 59th annual CMA Awards, will take place in Nashville at Bridgestone Arena, broadcasting live on ABC at 7 p.m. CT.
Wilson recently wrapped up the North American leg of her “Whirlwind” tour, a run in promotion of her 2024 album by the same name.
Now, she’s up for six CMA Awards at this year’s ceremony, including entertainer of the year, and will also take the stage to perform.
More: Who is performing at the 2025 CMA Awards? Lineup features Luke Combs, more
The CMAs were a “big deal in the Wilson household,” she said. Wilson grew up in small-town Baskin, LA, and the CMA Awards were the like Super Bowl for her family.
“Just thinking about that little girl sitting way too close to the TV and dreaming about being a part of it … it’s really wild to even be invited, much less nominated, and then now getting to host.”
In the four years she’s been up for awards, she’s received 25 nominations, the most of any artist in that time span since their first nomination. Behind her is Alan Jackson with 21 total nominations.
In 2023, Wilson took home the night’s biggest award: entertainer of the year. Last year, she received two awards, including female vocalist of the year and music video of the year.
“I feel so blessed,” she said.
“And I’m not just talking about the accolades. This journey just keeps getting crazier and crazier, and I’m getting to experience things that honestly weren’t even on my list to experience.”
For the 2025 ceremony, Wilson is one of the top-nominated performers alongside “You Look Like You Love Me” singer Ella Langley and “Tennessee Orange” artist Megan Moroney.
Wilson remembers being at home in Louisiana and watching Miranda Lambert deliver CMA Award acceptance speeches.
“She was always talking about how there’s not enough girls. You know, ‘Where are the girls at?'” Wilson said. But things are turning now, she added.
“The girls are doing it, y’all. And they’re not just half-a**ed doing it. They’re really doing it,” she said.
“Megan and Ella both, it’s just so cool and refreshing to see these ladies who have a vision. They have their eye on the prize. They work hard. They show up when they say they’re going to show up.”
When it comes to Wilson’s performance at this year’s ceremony, she chose not to reveal too much.
“The CMAS haven’t got to see that real fiery side of me, that sassy side. But a lot of the people who know me know that I got that side,” she said. “So you’re going to see some sass, and it’s going to be fun.”
Aside from her own participation, Wilson is looking forward to the “country music family reunion” that happens at the CMAs. “The truth is, we’re like ships passing in the night,” she said, only linking up on tours here and there.
Wilson also shouted out one of her heroes, Vince Gill, who will receive the 2025 Willie Nelson lifetime achievement award.
The two performed Gill’s song “Go Rest High On That Mountain” at this year’s Emmy Awards In Memoriam segment in September.
“I’ve gotten to know Vince even more so in the last few months, and when I tell you this man is good as gold, he is a musician’s musician,” Wilson said. “You can tell that who he is today is exactly who he was 30-40 years ago. I just value a person like that.”
No matter who takes home the awards at this year’s ceremony, Wilson wants to leave the global audience with one message: Country music is “a real community with real people, with real stories, with real hearts.”
“That’s really important to me,” she said. “I wish everybody could experience the kind of relationships that I feel like I’ve built in this town, and I hope the fans see that too.
“Social media, it’s got its incredible things, and it’s got its awful things too, and sometimes you probably get this idea that people are always after each other, but they’re not. They’re not,” she continued.
“There’s a lot of people in this town who want each other to win.”
To learn more about the CMA Awards, head to cmaawards.com.
Audrey Gibbs is a music journalist at The Tennessean. You can reach her at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville’s Lainey Wilson opens up about CMAs hosting duty
