Lainey Wilson Takes Home Album of the Year at the 2023 ACM Awards
Lainey Wilson's Bell Bottom Country won Album of the Year at the 2023 ACM Awards on Thursday night (May 11). The 30-year-old country music artist claimed the trophy in person during the live broadcast of the show.
Keith Urban presented Wilson with her trophy, which came after her energetic performance of "Grease," from her winning album. The win also marked several awards for Wilson during the two-hour telecast, including ACM Female Artist of the Year.
During her acceptance speech, Wilson said, "All right. Let me collect my thoughts. I'm like blacking out. I'm out of breath because of that or because of this. It's a lot. I feel so honored. Just first of all, thank you so much to the Academy. I want to say that Bell Bottom Country has been a labor of love. Thank you to my producer, Mr. Jay Joyce, my incredible songwriters who sometimes know what I am trying to say better than I do, the musicians who played on this record, my goodness."
"You all have helped me find a way that Bell Bottom Country even sounds like. I wrote 300 songs during the pandemic, and a lot of folks have shared with me that this album has changed their life and the truth is, writing these songs for this album saved mine. So Bell Bottom Country is country with a flare!"
Wilson's winning project, Bell Bottom Country, was competing against Ashley McBryde's Ashley McBryde Presents: Lindeville, Luke Combs' Growin' Up, Miranda Lambert's Palomino and Jon Pardi's Mr. Saturday Night. The trophy was presented to the recording artist as well as any producers and record labels associated with the album.
Wilson's much-anticipated second major label album arrived in October 2022. The collection finds the singer embracing and celebrating her quirks, including a title that champions her signature flair for '70s fashion.
Bell Bottom Country produced Wilson's No. 1 hit single "Heart Like a Truck," and it also includes two Yellowstone tracks — "Smell Like Smoke" and "New Friends" — that she tacked onto the streaming and digital versions of the album after launching her Season 5 character arc on the show.
The album also offered Wilson's most intimate songwriting to date. One particularly emotional song, "These Boots (Deddy's Song)," pays homage to her father, who suffered a medical emergency that forced her to cancel a few shows surrounding the album release. The track list also features Wilson's cover of 4 Non Blondes' "What's Up (What's Going On)."
The 2023 ACM Awards took place at Frisco, Texas' Ford Center and streamed live for the second consecutive year on Amazon Prime Video. Garth Brooks and Dolly Parton hosted the show.