A long time coming for Lainey Wilson.
Tonight on the season finale of NBC’s The Voice, the Louisiana girl performed on the show, but that wasn’t even close to the highlight of the evening… Lainey’s musical hero, Reba, also invited her to become the next member of the Grand Ole Opry.
Host Carson Daly invited Reba to say a few words to Lainey after her performance, though she of course played it coy at first, saying:
“Lainey, I am so proud of you. You did a wonderful job, and I have heard that I have inspired you and what you’ve done so far.
And I am thrilled to death if I have anything to do with your career ‘cuz you are blowing it up.”
And Lainey was humble as always, saying how cool it was for Reba to acknowledge her in that way. Reba continued, breaking the news that Lainey is the next official member of the Grand Ole Opry:
“I was so proud of you at the ACM’s the other night, and I couldn’t be more proud to be the one that helps you continue to bride the gap between our generations, keep ’em all going.
I’d like to be the person to invite you to be a member, official member, of the Grand Ole Opry.”
Lainey, clearly in shock, was understandably very emotional, taking a second to gather her thoughts and fully realize what was happening. She gave Reba a big hug, shed a few tears, and it was very obvious just how much the moment meant to her after so many years of hard work.
And of course, she had a great response, especially considering how caught of guard she was, saying she’s always known she wanted to perform on the Grand Ole Opry stage since she was a little girl:
“Holy moly! First of all, my family is over here tonight and I will say, they took me to Nashville when I was nine years old and we went to the Grand Ole Opry.
We saw Bill Anderson, and Crystal Gayle, and Little Jimmy Dickens and I knew I wanted to play there. I wanted to do it.
And it is so crazy that you are asking me to be a member, because I look up to you so much. I’m not talking about just musically, but the way that you carry yourself and your work ethic. You inspire me every day.”
Lainey will soon be able to call herself the newest member of one of the most historic institutions in country music, an honor many country artists only ever dream about, and an induction date is still forthcoming.
Definitely check out the full video below, and a huge congratulations to Lainey on yet another impressive career milestone. I’ve been rooting for her for a long time now, and this is so cool to see.
She was just named Entertainer of the Year at the ACM Awards last Thursday, as well:
Lainey also performed her new song “Hang Tight Honey,” from her forthcoming Whirlwind album: