Lainey Wilson Reflects on Rise to Fame in New ‘Bell Bottom Country’ Special

Lainey Wilson attends the 2024 Billboard Women in Music Awards in Inglewood, Calif., on March 6, 2024. Michael Tran/AFP via Getty Images

Country music singer-songwriter Lainey Wilson is shedding light on the obstacles she has had to overcome on her journey to fame with a forthcoming special set to premiere on Hulu on May 29.

The documentary, “Lainey Wilson: Bell Bottom Country,” from ABC News Studios, describes the “Watermelon Moonshine” singer’s struggle to stardom, including picking up roots from her small hometown of Baskin, Louisiana, to move to Nashville, Tennessee, in pursuit of her dreams.

“I experienced a lot of rejection, a lot of heartache,” the 31-year-old recalls in a trailer for the special—the title of which is a nod to her fourth studio album, “Bell Bottom Country.”

“I’m a tough woman, but it’s not easy. I have my days where you gotta do whatever you can to crawl out of those dark holes. You’re gonna feel lonely,” Ms. Wilson explains in the preview, shared to her Instagram account on May 6.

“There was a lot of personal stuff in my life that was really falling apart,” she continues. “It’s taken me a really long time to even get to this moment.”

During the special, Ms. Wilson touches upon her father’s distressing health battles and reflects on the difficulties she faced after relocating to the “Music City” at the age of 19, including living in a camper van for several years before making it big. “Pulling up to Nashville, I was terrified,” she explains. “I was a fish out of water. At times I was too country for country.

“I remember sitting out in this camper trailer crying my eyes out, thinking, ‘Is it ever gonna happen?’” she continued. “But Mom and Daddy didn’t raise no quitter.”

‘Bell Bottom Country’

In addition to candidly exploring Ms. Wilson’s many trials and tribulations, the documentary highlights her illustrious wins, from soaring up the Billboard charts to garnering her first Grammy, which she received earlier this year at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards.

Ms. Wilson took home “Best Country Album” for her highly acclaimed “Bell Bottom Country.” Released in October 2022, the album “draws its name directly from the moniker people use to describe the Louisiana native’s unique sound, style, and aesthetic,” per a press release.

“This past year has been such a roller coaster,” Ms. Wilson recalled at the time. “It’s truly been one of the most rewarding and challenging of my career. We’ve worked so hard on this album and I’m so proud of it.”

During her acceptance speech for “Best Country Album,” Ms. Wilson noted that the album has “truly changed” her life. “I am from a farming community in northeast Louisiana—a little town of 200 people,” she explained. “I’m a fifth-generation farmer’s daughter, and I would consider myself a farmer, too. And everybody that I surround myself with, I think they’re farmers, too. But they’re story farmers.”

She continued: “It’s about getting up every single day and planting those seeds and watering ‘em and watching ’em grow. And sometimes when you find the right farming community, um, you can have a harvest of a lifetime, and truly believe that, and I think that’s exactly what this is tonight.”

Rise to Fame

After moving to Nashville in 2011, Ms. Wilson went on to release her self-titled debut album three years later. Her second album, “Tougher,” came in 2016, and in 2019, the Louisiana native swiftly skyrocketed to fame after her music was featured in season two of the hit television show “Yellowstone.”

Ms. Wilson released an extended play album, “Redneck Hollywood,” that same year, followed by her third studio album “Sayin‘ What I’m Thinkin’” in 2021, before going on to guest star in the fifth season of Paramount’s popular neo-Western drama, portraying aspiring country singer Abby.

Following on the heels of her Grammy win, the country singer released one of her newest singles, “Country’s Cool Again,” in February. In a post shared to Instagram on Feb. 11, she wrote: “Country’s been havin’ the comeback of a lifetime and all I gotta say is, I’m here for it. It’s always been cool in our book, but welcome to the party y’all!”

This week, Ms. Wilson unveiled plans to open a bar in downtown Nashville. Bell Bottoms Up, slated to open this summer, will reportedly replace the now-disbanded musical duo Florida Georgia Line’s FGL House, which recently announced its closure. “I can’t wait for all my Wild Horses to get to experience my home away from home,” Ms. Wilson wrote in a post shared to X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday.

On May 9, Ms. Wilson revealed that her fifth studio album will be out on Aug. 23. In an Instagram post, she revealed the cover artwork and said she named the album “Whirlwind” because “that’s what [her] life has been the last couple of years.”

“I hope this record brings peace to your ‘whirlwind’ and wraps its arms around you like it did me when I was writing and recording it,” she wrote.