“She is my dear friend, we’ve been friends for a few years now,” Lainey Wilson said of Ella Langley on Billboard’s red carpet this spring. “She is kicking down barn-doors, and I just couldn’t be more proud of my friend.”
On Nov. 18, those two friends will share the biggest night in country music. Lainey hosts the 60th CMA Awards live from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville for the third year in a row. Ella walks in with more nominations than anyone else.
If you only know them from the radio, Lainey is the Louisiana singer in the bell bottoms behind “Heart Like a Truck” and “Watermelon Moonshine.” Ella is the Alabama singer behind “Choosin’ Texas,” which won Single and Song of the Year at the ACM Awards in May.
Ella’s nine CMA nominations include Entertainer of the Year, Female Vocalist of the Year and Album of the Year for “Dandelion.” Her songs “Choosin’ Texas” and “Be Her” are each up for Single and Song of the Year. Only Alan Jackson, with 10 in 2002, ever had more in a single year.
Lainey has a stake in this too. She won Entertainer and Female Vocalist last year, and she is up for both again. That puts the host in two races against her good friend.
The friendship has shown up on stage before. In April, at Billboard’s Women in Music event in Los Angeles, Lainey was the one who handed Ella the Powerhouse Award. Country Now reported what Ella said when she took the trophy: “Lainey, I love you so much. I’m so grateful you’re here. Thank you for sitting at dinner with me.”
Billboard posted Lainey’s speech from that night, as she brought Ella up to accept.
Lainey presents Ella with the Powerhouse Award
A few weeks later came a tougher morning. Ella was up for seven ACM Awards on May 17 in Las Vegas, and the nerves hit early. “Today I was having a strange day,” she told the crowd later that night.
She walked into Lainey’s room backstage. “I just got emotional and she hugged me, wrapped me up and started praying for me,” Ella said.
Ella won all seven awards she was up for that night, a record for one artist in a single year. When she accepted Female Artist of the Year, she thanked the women who had helped her get through the day.
The Academy of Country Music posted that Female Artist of the Year speech, where she tells the story herself.
Ella tells the ACM crowd about Lainey’s prayer
Lainey talked about that morning in October on Amazon Music’s “Country Heat Weekly” podcast with hosts Kelly Sutton and Amber Anderson. As Holler reported, she told them, “you ain’t alone, we are in this together.”
Then the talk turned to Nov. 18, and Lainey shared the plan she has for her friend. She said she has already warned Ella about it.
“I said, ‘girl, I’m going to bring you a bedazzled broom’ so she can sweep it up,” Lainey said.
A broom needs a partner, and the host has that covered as well. “I’m going to be there with a bedazzled dustpan!” she said.
So if Ella’s name keeps getting called on CMA night, she could leave Bridgestone Arena with a sparkly broom to go with her trophies. Lainey would be right beside her, holding the dustpan.
Amazon Music posted the full episode. The talk about this year’s CMA Awards starts at about 16:17, and the chat about hosting follows at about 19:38.
Lainey talks CMA night on “Country Heat Weekly”
The 60th CMA Awards air Wednesday, Nov. 18, at 8 p.m. Eastern on ABC and Disney+, with Hulu streaming it the next day. Ella is one of the first performers announced for the show.
Lainey has handed Ella an award before. This time she wants to hand her something with a little more shine.