Lainey Wilson’s ‘Dream Come True’ Performance With Dolly Parton

Lainey Wilson joined her musical hero, Dolly Parton, on Dolly's CBS special "Pet Gala" this week and got to sing Parton's "I Will Always Love You" with the music icon.

Lainey posted a clip of the performance on her Instagram yesterday (2/21). She captioned the clip, "Dogs, dolly, and a little sparkle…three of my favorite things. Sharing a stage with the queen herself, @dollyparton, to perform "I Will Always Love You" was a dream come true. #dollyspetgala."

Many of WIlson's "Wild Horses" fan club reacted to the post. One fan wrote, "Goosebumps!!!!" Another fan commented, "We NEED this song rendition RELEASED." One more fan said, "Wow! Lainey !!! The two of them, amazing."

In November, after Wilson won Album of the Year, Female Vocalist of the Year, and Entertainer of the Year at the CMA Awards, she came backstage to chat with the press.

I asked Lainey about meeting and spending some quality time with the 1978 CMA Entertainer of The Year, Dolly Parton. Wilson said that the two got together at Dollywood a week before the CMA Awards. She told me, "Actually, when I went to Dollywood, and I hung out with her a little bit, I told her... I said the CMAs are around the corner. She said, 'I've won one a time or two.' I mean, Dolly, she's it. She's the one that I look to when I think about how to go about this business. She's never been scared to step outside the lines, to step outside the box. But at the same time, she's completely true to herself and true to her story."

She added, "I asked for some advice on how do you keep on going? And she said, 'You've got to keep going, and whatever you are affiliated with, make sure that you're passionate about it because at the end of the day. If you're not, people can read right through that.'"

Wilson concluded with a smile. "It's incredible, you know how everybody says don't meet your hero? Well, I'll tell you what, that's not Dolly Parton. She's someone I think everybody needs to strive to be."  And clearly, she's someone who anyone would be lucky to meet.

The Las Vegas Sphere is the new sensation in a performance venue where artists can create a visual experience that is beyond what has been possible in stadiums, arenas and theaters. According to the Sphere website, "Sphere is a next-generation entertainment medium redefining the future of live entertainment. It allows the foremost artists, creators, and technologists to create extraordinary experiences that take storytelling to a new level and transport audiences to places both real and imagined." The venue is powered by "cutting-edge technologies" that ignite the senses and enable audiences to share experiences at a never-before-seen scale.

Country music shows have upped the production game in their concerts over the years: country shows aren't just a singer and a band performing anymore (although that's great, too!).

Legendary rock band U2 was the first act to play the Sphere -- their residency ends on March 2 -- and a few of the videos that have been released shows the scope of what is possible in the venue. The entire interior of the veune  over the stage is a huge video screen, as you can see in the below video.

Each song can have it's own visual design; in the below video, you'll note that the performance for "Even Better Than The Real Thing" looks completely different  the above one, for "Zoo Station."

The visuals at the venue can be so overwhelming that some fans have reported experiencing motion sickness. And while the videos above (some of which were clearly shot by drones) are somewhat nauseating, it's understandable that she sheer magnitude of the spectactle can be jarring.  At thirty-eight seconds into the below video (of "The Fly"), it appears that the audience is in a giant digital elevator shaft, with a massive elevator descending.

Another fun aspect of the Sphere: the entire exterior is also a massive screen. They've used it in lots of creative ways (some of which you may have caught during the Super Bowl Broadcast, or U2's performance at the Grammy Awards.

Country artists have certainly been dominating Las Vegas over the past few years. Which got us to thinking, what country stars would really shine in this exciting new venue?

Lainey is the CMA's current Entertainer of the Year and has proven herself a hard worker. While she shined as an opener in 2023 on the Luke Combs stadium tour and HARDY's tour, we feel she is cooking up something big for her first headlining tour in 2024. Playing a show at the Las Vegas Sphere would be an amazing opportunity for Wilson to outdo herself on stage. Looking at the work she puts into her video creation and even her television stage moments, it's a no-brainer she would be great with a dome of activity behind her every move on stage.

When Carrie kicked off her "Denim & Rhinestones Tour" in late 2022, I was invited as a guest of Underwood to travel with her and other music friends to Kentucky and check out the show. Carrie's performance was non-stop action with backdrops of video content, which would be perfect for the Las Vegas Sphere. A multiple Entertainer of the Year winner for the ACM, Underwood is a pro and has the live show down to near perfection.

There is no doubt Carrie works hard and even flies through the air over her crowd at a couple of points in the show in a ring. U2 is the only act who has played the Sphere so far and acrobatics isn't really their thing (give the guys a break, they're in their 60s). But we'd think that the Sphere would be set up for artists who want to fly over the crowd.  She would be amazing in that setting and already has the Las Vegas crowd charmed yearly with her ongoing "Reflections" show at Resorts World.

I am not gonna lie; I am partial to Keith Urban and always have been since I started to interview him over twenty years ago when he first started out. This guy was born to entertain and has one of the best stage shows in not just country music but also music in general. He's funny on stage and interacts with his fans at shows. And, of course, can play the guitar like no one else. Urban already plays a Vegas residency a couple of times each year so the Sphere would be a natural fit for him.

Luke has so much energy on stage and always has been a great performer. With his high-octane shows and fun sense of humor, this guy could really have some fun with the technology that the Las Vegas Sphere has to offer. He just wrapped his Las Vegas residency at Resorts World earlier this year, and Vegas already loves him.

Bryan's music videos always impress; we're sure he would do something special with the Sphere dome-shaped video in mind. Tickets for Luke's Vegas shows go quickly, as would a show at the Sphere.

When Reba is done with her world domination of television with her perfect National Anthem singing at the Super Bowl, coaching on The Voice, and the new sitcom that is coming on NBC, she may just make a move to a Las Vegas residency. Reba has always done Vegas, but not yet a big residency, and if you have ever through the years seen Reba in concert, you know what a showman she is.

She recently told us that she loves the way Garth Brooks plays for fans at his Vegas residency. Can you imagine what Reba could do to "Fancy" in a dome covered with the video? I had the chance to see her 2023 concert tour, and aside from singing every word to every song as loud as possible, the capacity crowd was hypnotized by her performance from the minute she hit the stage. Yeah, she's still got it.