Lainey Wilson Feels a Shift Coming for Country Music: “Us Girls Got A Lot to Say”

At Billboard‘s 2024 Women in Music event on Wednesday (March 6), Lainey Wilson took a moment after her performance to discuss the country music industry. She spoke about the impact of women on country music, how she feels there’s a change coming for the industry, and what she thinks the future of the genre looks like.

“I will say I do feel a shift in the genre and I feel like I’m a part of that shift and I’m very proud to be,” she said. “At the end of the day us girls we got a lot to say and I think it’s really important to hear our side of the story and I’m excited to see the direction it’s going in. And I think it’s only up from here. I see a big change happening [and] it’s about damn time!”

Wilson also spoke about women in country “still breaking rules,”—which is fitting as she won the Rulebreaker Award in 2023—and went on to talk about women coming into their own to rule country music.

“You have no choice,” she said. “Honestly, everybody here is a rulebreaker in their own kind of way … at the end of the day we’re going against the grain in a way that is hard to explain. You gotta be half-way crazy and hard-headed everything else and I am all of those things.”

Lainey Wilson On Kelly Clarkson’s Singing Ability

Lainey Wilson is all about giving credit where it’s due and lifting up her fellow women in the music industry, which is exactly what she did for Kelly Clarkson during an appearance on her show. The two did a duet of Wilson’s song “Country’s Cool Again,” and Wilson had high praise for Clarkson following the performance.

“Even when you’re up here just covering everybody else’s songs, it’s not just like you just learned the words and you got up there. I mean, you are feeling it for everything that it is,” Wilson said, thanking Clarkson for her rendition of “Heart Like a Truck.” Wilson then said, “You’re singing everybody’s songs better than they’re singing them!” joking, “You better quit!”

However, Clarkson simply dodged the compliment, which led some fans to get frustrated with her in the comments of the YouTube clip. “I know it’s none of my business but sometimes I get frustrated by how much Kelly dodges compliments,” one fan wrote. Another commented, “I hope someday she can feel comfortable enough to know that she deserves these accolades…”

Another fan agreed with Wilson and wrote, “Kelly has no ego about it but her voice is incredible. … She really does sing a lot of songs better than the original.”