Lainey Wilson won the trophy for Female Video of the Year at the CMT Music Awards! The 30-year-old won for her hit single, “Heart Like A Truck.”
“My heart’s about to beat right out of my chest, I’ll be honest with y’all,” Wilson said from stage. “This song right here is about finding freedom and strength. It’s about not being afraid of the scratches and the dents and the bumps along the way. We all got a story to tell, and I’m so proud of this music video. It was filmed, produced, written and directed by all women … and it is so wild. I just want to say first of all, thank you Jesus, for this opportunity.
“And I want to say, thank you CMT for literally believing in me before a lot of folks did,” she continued. “But I also want to say thank you so much to the fans. I feel like I’m watching my dreams come true right before my eyes, truly. This is for y’all. I love y’all so much. God bless y’all.”
Wilson, who had the most CMT Music Awards nominations of the night, didn’t have an easy beginning in country music. The Lousiana native lived in a camper trailer for several years, while trying to get her music career off the ground. Although trying at the time, Wilson now says she is grateful for all of it, especially the hard years.
“I wouldn’t change it for anything,” Wilson admitted to iHeartRadio. “But I will say, if I had known how hard it was gonna be, I don’t know if I would’ve ever done it. … I didn’t even get a publishing deal until year seven, and a record deal until year eight. And here we are, I’m working on year 12. We’re here now, but I’d see people pass me up and signing deals left and right, but I knew my time was coming. I did. I didn’t wanna be a flash in the pan. I’ve always tried to view it as brick by brick. And if that meant it was gonna take me a long time to build that dang house, then that’s what I was gonna do.”
Now that Wilson is one of the reigning hitmakers in country music, she hopes her life and career can be an inspiration to other aspiring artists.
“I’m proud of how long I’ve been working at this,” Wilson conceded. “Here I am 12 years later, and I’ve only gotten to this point. I want people to know that I didn’t just move to Nashville and it all of a sudden just happened. I want people to know that I have busted my tail and I deserve to be here. And if I get up there and say, ‘I’ve been in Nashville for 20 years,’ that should make people feel like, ‘Wow, this woman actually has something to say. She’s lived life.’ And I’m proud of that. So, I dare somebody to try to tell me that again. You’re living way behind times, brother. You better get with it.”
This is Wilson’s second CMT Music Award of the night. She also won with HARDY for Collaborative Video of the Year, for their “wait in the truck” collaboration.
Photo Credit: Catherine Powell/Getty for CMT
