{"id":2236355,"date":"2026-01-15T18:17:32","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T18:17:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2236355"},"modified":"2026-01-15T18:17:32","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T18:17:32","slug":"lainey-wilson-celebrates-ninth-no-1-hit-teases-new-music-in-2026-feeling-more-creative-than-ever","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/lainey-wilson-celebrates-ninth-no-1-hit-teases-new-music-in-2026-feeling-more-creative-than-ever\/","title":{"rendered":"Lainey Wilson Celebrates Ninth No. 1 Hit, Teases New Music in 2026: ‘Feeling More Creative Than Ever’"},"content":{"rendered":"

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After a whirlwind year, Wilson is already setting her sights on fresh goals and exciting new ventures.<\/p>\n

Photo Back Row L-R: BMI\u2019s Clay Bradley, ASCAP\u2019s Duane Hobson, Studio Bank\u2019s Kari Barnhart, Riser House\u2019s Brandon Perdue, Concord\u2019s Matt Turner, Sony Music Publishing\u2019s Rusty Gaston, BBR Music Group\/BMG Nashville\u2019s JoJamie Hahr; Front Row L-R: Dallas Wilson (BMI), Lainey Wilson (BMI), Trannie Anderson (BMI), Andy Albert (ASCAP); Photo Credit Larry McCormack for BMI<\/p>\n

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Lainey Wilson<\/a> was enjoying some rare downtime at home with her dog hippie and her fianc\u00e9 Devlin \u201cDuck\u201d Hodges when she learned she had just scored her ninth No. 1 hit at country radio with \u201cSomewhere Over Laredo.\u201d While celebrating this achievement with more than 300 members of the Nashville community on Tuesday night, she reflected on the song\u2019s journey and shared her goals for 2026.<\/p>\n

The songstress told Country Now<\/em> and other outlets that the idea for the dreamy track came to hitmaking Nashville songwriter, Andy Albert while he was grilling on his back porch.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was grilling on my back porch, just kind of ruminating over some kind of thought. I don\u2019t know where it came from, but I thought about \u2018Somewhere Over the Rainbow,\u2019 the original, and that song just means so much to me,\u201d Albert explained. \u201cMy mom used to sing that to me as a little baby, and I sang it at my grandpa\u2019s funeral. It was his favorite song. And I just started thinking about that song itself, and maybe there\u2019s some way to put a little new twist in that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dallas Wilson, Andy Albert, Lainey Wilson, Trannie Anderson celebrate \u201cSomewhere Over Laredo\u201d going No. 1 at country radio<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

He later brought this idea to another one of Wilson\u2019s frequent collaborators, Trannie Anderson. The pair of songwriters were looking for a way to fill some down time while waiting in line for a ride at Universal Studios in Orlando, FL, which prompted Albert to share the unique idea of \u201cSomewhere Over Laredo.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAndy threw out that hook and we started talking about different ways to write it, different storylines you could have. And we started it in Nashville a week later, and then next part of the journey, brought it to Lainey,\u201d Anderson recalls.<\/p>\n

The idea eventually reached Wilson during a trip to Montana. She remembers looking out at the beautiful scenic setting when she heard the start of the song for the first time and realizing in that moment that they were cooking up something special.<\/p>\n

She shared, \u201cTrannie\u2019s like, \u2018Man, Andy started working on this idea,\u2019 and she starts keeping time on the side of her chair. No instrument, just singing it. And I knew when what they had started on sounded that good, just by tapping on the side of a vinyl chair, that we had something.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The remainder of the song unfolded with the help of Wilson alongside Dallas Wilson, Edgar Yipsel Harburg and Harold Arlen. Drawing inspiration from one of the most iconic songs, \u201cOver The Rainbow,\u201d originally sung by Judy Garland for the 1939 film, Wizard of Oz, Wilson\u2019s rendition of the track captures the bittersweet realization of a rodeo romance meant to drift apart, while also tipping her hat to small towns across Texas and the rest of the country.<\/p>\n

Since she is now in a joyful and loving relationship, the Louisiana native admits she had to tap into emotions from previous connections in order to truly embrace this narrative.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think as a songwriter, there\u2019s moments in time where you have to step back into a pair of shoes that you wore long time ago. Because the truth is right now I\u2019m in a happy, healthy relationship, about to get married, and so I\u2019m definitely not singing about him,\u201d she said with a smile.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut when I think about the people who are coming to my shows, it\u2019s important for me to have a little bit of something for everybody.\u00a0It\u2019s also important for me to have lived it at some point in time in order for me to believe it, to tell the story and also have them believe it.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Lainey Wilson; Somewhere Over Laredo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cSomewhere Over Laredo\u201d saw immediate success and became the biggest streaming debut of her career. It was the most added song at country radio upon impact and garnered over 1.16 million streams across platforms in its first 24 hours. It later served as the lead single from the deluxe edition of her 2024 album,\u00a0Whirlwind.<\/em><\/p>\n

Speaking on the moment Wilson learned it had soared to the top of the charts, she revealed, \u201cWe were watching it pretty close. And I will say my radio team really, they did their thing with this. They rolled their sleeves up and got it across the finish line. And yeah, I\u2019ve got a great team.\u201d<\/p>\n

The song has now earned her two of three nominations for the 2026 GRAMMY awards. Going into the coveted evening next month, Wilson is up for Best Country Solo Performance and Best Country Song for \u201cSomewhere Over Laredo\u201d and Best Country Duo\/Group Performance for the collaboration \u201cTrailblazer\u201d with Reba McEntire & Miranda Lambert.<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/strong>It just means a lot to me that people in the industry think [it\u2019s] as good as what we thought it was the day that we finished it. And I\u2019m just so thankful that you were blessed with this idea at your grill,\u201d Wilson joked, looking to her co-writer.<\/p>\n

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