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Lainey Wilson Was ‘Shocked’ When Reba Walked Over

Lainey Wilson was made a member of the Grand Ole Opry in June. It was country icon Reba McEntire who invited her to be a member of the Opry when…

Lainey Wilson performed on stage wearing a white sleeveless shirt and a white cowboy hat. Reba McEntire performed on stage wearing a black jacket.
Rebecca Sapp, Jason Kempin/Getty Images

Lainey Wilson was made a member of the Grand Ole Opry in June. It was country icon Reba McEntire who invited her to be a member of the Opry when Lainey appeared on NBC's The Voice.

Laney told us, "When Reba asked me on The Voice she walks up and she had this little box and my birthday was a few days before. She had this little box and I thought maybe she was giving me a cupcake or something. I thought how cool is this Reba’s gonna give me a cupcake."

She continued, "But it wasn’t a cupcake. I was completely shocked. My family also got to be there for that one. I’ll tell you that it’s hard to wrap your head around the fact that I have Reba McEntire and love and she truly has become a friend. And when I look at her and her career I see a woman that has stuck to her guns, never done anything to step outside of who she was in her character, but also wasn’t scared to take that leap of faith and try things that she’s never done."

She concluded, "And so it means a lot when someone like Reba kind of gives you that nod of approval I guess you could say."

Wilson is at the top of her game as the Entertainer of the Year for both the ACM‘s and the CMA’s and we have a feeling she’s gonna win it again. It’s just been her time in country music.

In June, she was inducted as a member of the Grand Ole Opry. At the time she said that was one of the biggest honors of her life. She does have a bucket list, and while she’s checked many things off already. There are still a couple of things that Lainey wants to do.

Wilson told us of her bucket list, "We really have been checking them off left and right. I've been in Nashville for thirteen years and I started working on this way before then. When I was nine years old, I wrote my first songs, and when I came to the Grand Ole Opry for the first time. I remember exactly where I was sitting, and I remember who played, it was Jeannie Seeley, Bill Anderson, and Crystal Gayle, and I remember looking at that circle and thinking, 'I'm gonna do that, I'm gonna stand up there.'"

Lainey added with a smile, "As for the bucket list, I'd like to do a little more acting, I guess. I'd love to do some voiceover work. I want to do it all. Why not?"

Nancy Brooks has been working in the country music industry for almost 30 years. She has interviewed pretty much any country star you can think of. In the late 1990s, she started working with Dolly Parton. And yes, Nancy reports that Parton is as sweet as you would think. She loves her life in country music and has been backstage at every CMA Awards show since the late 1990s. Many of her stories are from her one-on-one interviews. She was there at the beginning of the incredible careers of many music superstars today, including Taylor Swift, Shania Twain, and Blake Shelton, and has interviewed them multiple times throughout the years.