Lainey Wilson: It’s Time To ‘Show ‘Em’ Why She’s CMA Entertainer

Lainey Wilson won the CMA's top award of Entertainer of the Year at November's award show, and it was no surprise to anyone as she had a great year. Her star is only rising these days.

When we chatted with Lainey last week (2/22), she told us how much she appreciated getting the big award, but to her, it was more of a challenge than a career cap. She said, "The people that I look up to and respect voted for me, and it's really cool to be recognized. When we won, I'm just the type of person where I'm not like. 'Alright, we did it, that's it.' I was like, 'Okay, well, they crowned me Entertainer of the Year, so it's about time I show 'em that I am.' For the ones who thought I deserved it and for the ones who thought I didn't."

She added, "That's just part of who I am and part of my DNA. I take the gift; I accept it with an open heart, but at the end of the day, it doesn't define me. That's not what made me want to start writing music in the first place, and it's not the thing that makes me continue writing music. It's just a really nice gift from up above of being recognized. I appreciate it so, so much, but there are a lot of other things that keep me going."

Wilson explained that she believed it wasn't just her music that made her peers vote for her. She told us, "I've worked on relationships in this town for thirteen years, and I knew, at the end of the day, I could be a decent singer, I could be a decent songwriter, but if I was a good person, people would remember that more than they wud remember my songs."

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.