Lainey Wilson admits she couldn’t hold back her emotions while rehearsing with Reba McEntire and Miranda Lambert for their debut performance of their new single, “Trailblazer” at the 2025 ACM Awards.
With each of these women spanning three generations of country music — and all trailblazers in their own right — their upcoming performance is shaping up to be one of the most emotional moments of the show.
“We were all just trying to hold it together out there. All of us had tears in our eyes. It just felt, we could just feel the energy and we were also happy to be able to share the stage with each other. So I hope other little girls are watching at home and can just see that women who stick together get it done and that’s what its about,” Wilson told Country Now.
The Idea Behind The Song’s Powerful Meaning
She went on to say that the idea for the collaboration came from McEntire, who inspired a powerful conversation between the Louisiana native, Lambert, and Brandy Clark. They discussed the legacy of women in country music and those who’ve not only broken barriers but lifted others up along the way. For Wilson, that kind of unwavering support has come most forcefully from McEntire and Lambert.
“We just started talking about really the history of country music and how the females have stuck together and kind of just blazed those trails and went down with the weed whackers and done whatever they could to help the next person up. And I owe it to them. I do,” Wilson shared humbly.
“I mean they’re two of the ladies that have really been just willing to share any kind of wisdom with me and lift me up and encourage me and that’s what it’s about. So it’s not just a song for people in the music industry. This is a song for just people in general who feel like they are paving paths for others.”
Wilson Could Make ACM Awards History
Lainey Wilson’s seven nominations include: Female Artist of the Year, Album of the Year (Whirlwind), Song of the Year (“4x4xU”), Visual Media of the Year (“4x4xU”), Artist-Songwriter of the Year, and the night’s highest honor, Entertainer of the Year.
She is one of four artists who could tie the record for the most ACM Awards won in a single night—a feat currently held by Chris Stapleton (2016), Faith Hill (1999), and Garth Brooks (1991), each of whom collected six ACM Award wins in one night. She shares nominations across six categories this year with Morgan Wallen, Ella Langley, and Cody Johnson.
Since Lainey Wilson, Wallen, and Langley are all contenders in the Song of the Year category as both performers and songwriters, each of them also have a shot at taking home up to seven trophies, which would break the long-standing record.
The Louisiana native also has the potential to make ACM history in several other ways. She could join Miranda Lambert and Kacey Musgraves as one of only three female solo artists to win Album of the Year multiple times. Wilson first earned that title in 2023 with Bell Bottom Country and is now nominated again for her latest project, Whirlwind.
Hoping To Reclaim Her Title Of Entertainer Of The Year
Additionally, the “4x4xU” singer is already among the elite group of females who have previously won the title including Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn, Barbara Mandrell, Reba McEntire, Shania Twain, The Chicks, Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood and Miranda Lambert. And if she wins Entertainer of the Year again, she’ll become the first woman in over a decade to take home the title two years in a row—the last was Taylor Swift in 2011 and 2012.
“It don’t feel real, I’ll be honest,” she said of being nominated for the highest honor of the night. “It puts a lot of things into perspective. I don’t take it lightly. I don’t at all. It’s a huge honor just to feel like those 15 years of me being in Nashville, I feel like I’ve gained the respect of my peers who I’ve love too. So that’s a good feeling.”
Full List Of 2025 ACM Awards Performers
Along with Wilson’s must-see performance with Miranda Lambert and Reba McEntire, there will be several other star-studded collaborations including Backstreet Boys with Rascal Flatts Jelly Roll and Shaboozey, and Brooks & Dunn with Cody Johnson.
In honor of the award show celebrating 60 years, a very special opening performance has been announced. The all-star lineup of Clint Black, Dan + Shay, Wynonna Judd, Reba McEntire, LeAnn Rimes, and Sugarland will take the stage for a 12-minute performance that highlights ACM Songs of the Year from six decades
The show will also feature deliveries by Megan Moroney, Alan Jackson, Chris Stapleton, Blake Shelton, Kelsea Ballerini, Eric Church, Brothers Osborne as well as New Artist of the Year winners Ella Langley and Zach Top.
How To Watch
Hosted by 16-time ACM Award-winning entertainment icon Reba McEntire, the 60th ACM Awards will stream live exclusively for a global audience across 240+ countries and territories on Prime Video and the Amazon Music channel on Twitch on Thursday, May 8, 2025, at 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT / 5 p.m. PT. The show will air from the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas, the world headquarters of the Dallas Cowboys.
More details can be found HERE.
The post Lainey Wilson Opens Up About Emotional ACM Awards Rehearsal With Reba McEntire and Miranda Lambert [Exclusive] appeared first on Country Now.
