Lainey Wilson joins The Kelleigh Bannen Show in London to talk about her whirlwind European tour, reflects on eight #1 songs and shares new details about her wedding plans. You can read our review of Lainey's headlining set from London at the C2C festival right here.
Listen to the full episode anytime on-demand with an Apple Music subscription at apple.co/_KelleighBannen
Lainey on her fiancé Devlin “Duck” Hodges
“He is a brave man. First of all, anybody who is okay with this lifestyle and being in the business so much and being gone all the time, he was plucked from the sky for me. Don't tell him I said that… We got to keep him humble.”
Lainey talks about the engagement ring that fiancé Devlin “Duck” Hodges designed for her
“Years ago I was just joking and being like, ‘Oh, check this out,’ and he was like, ‘Oh shoot.’ I think he started saving four years ago when we first started dating… But he went in and he designed it. And so he took a couple of the rings that I showed him years ago and put them all together and he outdid himself.”
Lainey on George Jones’ estate being the location for her engagement to Devlin “Duck” Hodges
“We've been trying to go see it for a while and one of Duck's buddies was listing it for sale and he had it all staged. Mandelyn, my manager, and her boyfriend were supposed to be meeting us and all this stuff just to go look at it because I was like, ‘I want to go see where George Jones lived.’ And then we showed up and they weren't there. And he had in front of the door it was candles and picture frames and it was beautiful.”
Lainey addresses rumors that she might buy George Jones’ former home
“Oh no, but I did see something on TikTok that was like, ‘Lainey Wilson's home,’ and it was George Jones' estate. I was like, ‘Well, that would be pretty cool, but that ain't right.’”
Lainey reveals whether or not she’s wearing a dress or bell bottoms on her wedding day
“I’m going to wear a dress. I hadn't done the whole dress shopping. We haven't even picked a date or anything like that. We got some time, but I figured, you know what? I hadn't worn a dress for him yet, and I guess that would be the day to do it.”
Lainey says she feels lucky to have found someone genuine like “Duck”
“I can't imagine doing this and being where I am now and then trying to find somebody who I feel like is okay with this lifestyle but also has the right intentions and everything. And Duck is just as true blue as they come. So the Lord has blessed me.”
Lainey talks about her first trip to the U.K. in 2018 and hearing the audience sing back to her for the first time
“Oh my goodness. Well, the first time I got to experience an audience over here was 2018. It was Country Music Week, and so I had just signed a record deal and then we had come over here. And I'll never forget it, I was at Bush Hall and it was just me and my guitar. I was opening up and you could hear a pin drop at first and then I was like, ‘Man, I hope they like it.’ And then all of a sudden they started singing the song back to me and that was the first time I ever heard anybody, a crowd, actually singing back to me.”
Lainey tells Apple Music she still gets nervous before every show
“Definitely, at times. It depends on what day it is. You know what I'm saying? I mean, we're human. And just like a basketball player, they're not going to have great games every single day. They're going to miss some shots here and there at times. I'm a female, so there are moments where I'm just like, ‘Oh, am I cool? Can I do this?’ And then as soon as I get out there, I remember, I'm like, ‘The Lord gave me this gift.’ And I know it's a gift. Whether everybody enjoys it or not, I feel like this is what I was supposed to be doing. And at the end of
the day, I kind of think it would be like a slap in his face to think otherwise. It's something that I try to get better at, it's like worrying, because then it seems like you're not trusting his plan. That kind of thing. Which I'm like, ‘Oh Lord, I'm sorry.’ Because I'd be worrying. But yeah, just getting out there and owning it and being like, ‘This is what I was born to do.’”
Lainey tells Apple Music about taking time to reflect on accomplishments like being inducted into the Grand Ole Opry and achieving eight #1 hits
“I try my best because I have let moments pass me by that. Looking back on it, I'm like, dang, that went by so quick. But I had to be prepared for whatever was next because you have to be on your toes. You have to be ready. Even though you might be playing the biggest show of your life, you might be having to sing a new song tomorrow and you're thinking about that and you're like, you got to be like a step ahead. But especially this past year, I've been able to take a step back and not be as crazy busy and really soak in these moments. It's so important. And so many people have told me that, artist friends who have been around for a long time, they're like, I'm telling you, look up, because you're going to blink and it's going to be 20 years and they're just gone. And you're going to be like, man, I don't even remember that time of
my life and I don't want to do that.”
Lainey tells Apple Music she’s currently working on her next album
“Always we are. Always because I mean, before Whirlwind was out, I really was already starting on this. I feel like you know how it happens, it takes forever for a record to come out. And then by the time it does and it's out for a little bit, you've already lived a lot of life to the point to where you have so many more stories to tell. So I think it's important to start putting those stories down before the other one comes out.”
Lainey teases a new song coming soon called “Bell Bottoms Up”
“I don't have a release date, date, but you know we have a bar called Bell Bottoms Up. We wrote a song called ‘Bell Bottoms Up’. I had said for a long time, I was like, ‘If I ever have a bar on Broadway it's going to be called Bell Bottoms Up.’ So we wrote the theme song, and I wrote it with my band.
