Lainey Wilson Shares The 'Wild' Way She Predicted Her Trailblazing Career

Lainey Wilson reiterated her motivational message to carry on with “head down and blinders on,” she said as she shared throwback photos throughout her life — including her previous stint as a Hannah Montana impersonator — as she strived to build her career as a country megastar. Wilson said, “don’t let anyone ever tell you that you can’t,” as she reflected on how far she’s come.

The Baskin, Louisiana-born singer-songwriter shared those nostalgic moments in a reel on Instagram, set to her latest radio single from her award-winning sophomore album, Bell Bottom Country, “Wildflowers and Wild Horses.” The song played in the background as Wilson said: “I’m getting up every single day and I’m looking at myself in the mirror and saying, ‘I am beautiful. I am smart. I am talented. I am Godly. I am fearless.’ If somebody tells me I can’t do it, hold my beer. Watch this.”

Wilson’s bold message is reminiscent of one of her powerful acceptance speeches at the 57th annual CMA Awards hosted earlier this month in Downtown Nashville, Tennessee. The reel ended with a snapshot of Wilson surrounded by the five awards she won that night, including the coveted Entertainer of the Year, becoming the first female artist to score that honor in more than a decade.

“The truth is, I knew this would happen. I knew that I would be here,” Wilson said backstage at Bridgestone Arena that night, when asked about her success after striving for about 12 years in Nashville to make it to this point, including a period of time living in her camper trailer. “I just, I feel like sometimes you gotta pretend. You gotta put yourself in the shoes of things that you’re not so one day you can become what you wanna be and what you knew that you could be, and that’s what I’d do, those lonely nights in my camper trailer out in West Nashville. I was envisioning myself being here. I was waiting outside of Bridgestone to get a little wristband so I could maybe be in the pit and feel like I was a part of this industry. I knew it. I knew it with every fiber of my being. And that sounds wild, but it’s true. And I think a lot of people around me…they knew it too. I’ve always had kind of a weird sense of peace about it. But I do feel like I’m right where I’m supposed to be.”

Now, Wilson knows that in the spotlight, she serves as a role model and mentor to young women and aspiring artists. That “responsibility,” she said, isn’t lost on her, and she isn’t shying away from it.

“To think that there’s a lot of little girls watching and looking up to me, I do feel a big responsibility. But I feel like I got it,” she said backstage at Bridgestone Arena in Downtown Nashville. “I feel like I can do it. I’m not gonna step outside of anything that I wouldn’t be proud of 30 years from now.”