Despite already being one of country music’s biggest stars, Lainey Wilson may have just earned herself a whole new group of fans.
If you’re anything like me, you may have looked at the Thanksgiving slate of NFL games, spotted the Dallas Cowboys versus the New York Giants, and earmarked that as the perfect time for a nap. With a combined 6 wins between the two teams, backup quarterbacks galore, and two seasons pretty much in the tank, there wasn’t a whole lot to look forward to between the NFL’s best(?) Detroit Lions and the frozen tundra game up in Green Bay, except of course the halftime show.
Last year, Dolly Parton (recently named the greatest country artist of all-time in a highly contentious Billboard list) lit the world on fire, donning the iconic Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders outfit for a performance that will go down in history as one of the best. You ever see a 77 year old look or sound that good?
As you may remember, Dolly had dudes everywhere reconsidering, well, just about everything, including Tony Romo, who was actually at a loss for words after last year’s show.
This year, the halftime show for the Dallas Cowboys featured a female country star that’s doing her best to fill the boots created by Dolly (and a number of other iconic women in country) and safe to say, people took notice.
Lainey Wilson put on a great show, singing a couple of her big hits, such as “Things A Man Oughta Know” and “Heart Like A Truck”, and was even joined by Jelly Roll for a duet of “Save Me”. The two released a revamped version of Jelly’s signature song on his debut country album Whitsitt Chapel last year.
Jelly Roll joined Lainey Wilson for the #DallasCowboys #Thanksgiving halftime performance…#NFL pic.twitter.com/5yd9bc9t7b
— Pat Doney (@PatDoneyNBC5) November 28, 2024
While Lainey’s already had a number of bigtime achievements in her career, winning seven CMA’s (including Entertainer of the Year), six ACMs, and a Grammy, getting to perform in front of nearly the entire country, not to mention over 92,000 people in AT&T Stadium, is a moment that few artists get in their careers and it’s safe to say that Lainey absolutely made the most of it and probably won over a ton of new fans in the process.
Looking at Google search trends over the last 24 hours, it’s pretty obvious to see the country’s reaction when Lainey took the midfield stage yesterday.
In another view, we can see how popular the Google search “Lainey Wilson” has been over the past year. This chart batches searches by week (this period ends on November 30th), meaning the popularity line may be adjusted before it’s completely accurate, but just look at that explosion from yesterday. Clearly the most search interest she’s has in the last 12 months.
So yeah, safe to say that the American public was very interested in what Lainey Wilson was bringing to the Thanksgiving table, a sentiment that was equally apparent on Twitter/X.
This Lainey Wilson halftime performance is what we used to have as a proper country.
Real music. Actual talent.
And yet come the superbowl we will get another degenerate rap concert.
🥱
— Eric🎙️ (@ThereWBBourbon) November 28, 2024
You guys hear that there was a football game at the Lainey Wilson concert in Dallas today? 😳 pic.twitter.com/Ga7OEOx8iG
— Karsen 🐎 (@Broncos4six) November 28, 2024
Just barked at Lainey Wilson during Thanksgiving dinner and now my mom won’t talk to me smh
— Cyclone Larry (@CycloneLarry69) November 29, 2024
Why can't Lainey Wilson & Jelly Roll be the Super Bowl halftime show instead of Kendrick Lamar?
— Mike Stanton (@mike_stanton) November 28, 2024
Thankful for Lainey Wilson’s wagon pic.twitter.com/y7baPsN2vE
— J 💰 (@j_twizzzy) November 28, 2024
I’m going to admit I never listened to a Lainey Wilson song in my life.
I’ve been missing out. She literally killed it. Sheesh 👀🔥🔥. pic.twitter.com/ktRHtfXdSK
— 49ers & NFL News 24/7 (@49ersSportsTalk) November 28, 2024
Now, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the number of comments mourning the supposed loss of Lainey’s, uhmm, assets, but come on, let’s all be honest for a minute. If you’re into Lainey for the visuals, they’re still there, but you’re really missing out on the great music that she makes. Few mainstream artists are keeping traditional sounds in country music to the extent that she does, she writes a lot of her own music, and she’s an all around great person, so how about we keep those other comments to ourselves, shall we?
Yesterday, Lainey Wilson solidified herself as a force to be reckoned with not just in country, but in all of music, and we’re all the better for it.
The NFL is an absolute buzzkill and won’t let me embed her full performance from yesterday here, but you can watch the full performance here.
Here’s Lainey’s current single “4x4xU”
