Lainey Wilson Invited To Join Grand Ole Opry

Author Lauren Hoffman

May 22nd 11:15 AM

HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 01: Lainey Wilson performs onstage during the 2024 iHeartRadio Music Awards at Dolby Theatre on April 01, 2024 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images)

Lainey Wilson made an appearance on the season finale of The Voice last night (5/21) to perform a new track from her upcoming Whirlwind album, “Hang Tight Honey.” While on stage, she received the surprise of a lifetime by country legend, Reba McEntire.

RELATED: Lainey Wilson To Open Nashville Bar, Bell Bottoms Up

McEntire stepped away from her judges seat to invite Wilson to become the newest member of the Grand Ole Opry in front of the live television audience. The “Country’s Cool Again” singer will officially be inducted on Friday, June 7.

“Lainey, I am so proud of you. You did a wonderful job, and I have heard that I’ve inspired you and what you’ve done so far. I am thrilled to death if I had anything to do with your career, cause you are blowing it up,” McEntire said.

She continued, “I was so proud of you at the ACMs the other night and I couldn’t be more proud to be the one that helps you continue to bridge the gap between our generations, keep them all going. I’d like to be the person to to invite you to be a member, official member of the Grand Ole Opry.”

Reba Invites Lainey Wilson to Join The Opry | The Voice | NBC
Somebody pinch me…I’m going to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry on June 7! 🥹😭 This is the moment little Lainey dreamed about ever since her first trip to Nashville. Thank you Reba McEntire & The Voice for the surprise of a lifetime. Get tickets to my June 7 induction here: https://laineywilson.lnk.to/OpryJune7
Posted by Lainey Wilson on Tuesday, May 21, 2024

Wilson will be inducted as the 229th member of the Grand Ole Opry following the induction of T. Graham Brown and Scotty McCreery in 2024. She will join fellow country stars and female members including McEntire, Carrie Underwood, Trisha Yearwood, Carly Pearce, Kelsea Ballerini, and Terri Clark, among others.

“Somebody pinch me… This is the moment little Lainey dreamed about ever since her first trip to Nashville. Thank you @reba @nbcthevoice for the surprise of a lifetime,” Wilson commented on Instagram.

The exciting news doesn’t stop there for Wilson. She is set to star in a “doc-style” program titled Bell Bottom Country, hosted by Good Morning America‘s Robin Roberts, which will begin streaming on Hulu on Wednesday, May 29.

Wilson will also kick off her headlining 2024 Country’s Cool Again Tour with supporting acts Jackson Dean, Ian Munsick, and Zach Top in Nashville on May 31. That same day, her new restaurant and bar, Bell Bottoms Up, located off Broadway at 120 Third Avenue South, will open its doors.

5 Lainey Wilson Music Videos Everyone Should Watch

"Things A Man Oughta Know" (2020)
This music video is quite personal as it was filmed in Lainey’s own home and filled with personal elements and close friends. It was released on April 2, 2021.

Wilson told us at the time of release, “I hoped that people would connect to this song, and it’s been so incredible to see just how strong the reaction has been. For the music video, we wanted to create a piece of art where people could watch it and feel something all over again.”
"Heart Like A Truck" (2022)
This cinematic video stars Lainey as a stable hand who is brought in to earn the trust of a free-spirited pony that no one else has been able to tame. Through time, care, and patience, she can get through the difficult period and eventually rides the horse around the farm, designed to mirror her own approach to relationships.

Wilson recently celebrated the song going to number one on the country charts with a party on Music Row, where she and the song’s co-writers sang it from their own separate truck beds in a parking lot.
"Grease" (2023)
This song was never released as a single, but they did make a music video of it, and it’s kind of personal to this journalist as my buddy, a budding country singer named Presley, is a dancing extra in it, dancing right beside Lainey. The video features a bunch of breakdancers all dancing to the song in front of Wilson’s tour buses.
"Watermelon Moonshine" (2023)
It’s another number-one country song. Lainey told us about it, “This song embodies what country music means to me, creating a timeless story that will resonate with people for generations to come. This song is about the crazy, young, nostalgic love we all hope to experience.” The video has been watched almost 10 million times on YouTube.

Even though Wilson is an actress herself, she actually has actors Rachel Lynn Matthews and Sam Sherrod play in the video, acting out the storyline of the song and depicting the unfolding of a young love. Wilson performs the song in a field as she narrates the story.
"Wait In The Truck" (2022)
This fantastic video from a duet with Lainey and HARDY is an award winner. It won the CMA for Music Video of the Year and the Musical Event of the Year award. “Wait In The Truck” also won the Visual Media of the Year (basically Video of the Year) at the 2023 ACM Awards. The music video also won Collaborative Music Video of the Year at the 2023 CMT Music Awards and was nominated for Video of the Year.

In this journalist’s opinion, the murder ballad and video is one of country music’s most prolific videos in the last decade. The video has been watched 69 million times on YouTube.