Lainey Wilson is dropping a new song, “Kinda Love It,’ on Friday. The song, from her next record, comes as her “Phone, Keys, Wallet” single with John Mayer is in the Top 15. Interestingly, Lainey reveals that Mayer is a co-writer on “Kinda Love It.”
“I have been writing a bunch, and I have been trying to walk into writing rooms with less of a plan,” Wilson says in a video shared on social media. “And I won’t lie to you, I like knowing how I want to say it, how I want to spin it, and just how it lands. But it turns out lately, the songs don’t really care about my plans. What’s that saying? ‘Make plans and God laughs’? Well, that’s how it’s been in the songwriting room lately, and I kind of love it. But I do love putting the puzzle pieces together of a song.”
Wilson admits that writing “Kinda Love It,” was unlike any of her writing experiences in the past.
“There really is something fun about walking in a room with no idea where it’s gonna land, and just letting the room take you there,” Wilson says. “Which sounds pretty spiritual until you realize it’s basically just four people sitting around making noises and banging on stuff until something works.”
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The Story Behind “Kinda Love It” by Lainey Wilson
Wilson had no idea, at least at first, that what started as a jam session would turn into a song that she is so excited to release.
“Kid Harpoon wanted to start with this driving beat that felt a little bit like we’re on drugs,” Wilson recalls. “And then John Mayer came over. We started jamming for what felt like six hours. I don’t actually know if it was six hours, but spiritually it felt like six hours. And I just remember Kid and John were over there in their own world jamming, while me and my redneck songwriting soul brother, Mr. Jon Decious, we were cooking up melodies and verses. And somewhere, in the middle of all that, I sang, ‘I Kinda Love It.’ And everybody basically looked at each other and said, ‘Well, I kind of love it.’
“So from there, it just took off,” she continues. “And it didn’t feel like it was trying too hard, or that it was taking itself too serious. It was just fun, a little weird, and something you could get lost in, which feels good. But I do think that everybody in that room played a specific role, and I don’t think the song would be what it is if we weren’t all just sitting around and exploring until the song found us. Sometimes you write the song. And sometimes you just hang on and let the song write itself. And I kind of love that, too.”
Wilson’s latest album, Whirlwind, came out in 2024. She has yet to announce plans for her next record.