In 2023, country music belonged to Lainey Wilson. The relative newcomer—Wilson made her major-label debut with Sayin’ What I’m Thinkin’ in 2021—shocked the country industry when she won Entertainer of the Year at November’s CMA Awards, at which she also won four other trophies and was the year’s most nominated artist. Her 2022 record Bell Bottom Country took Album of the Year at both that ceremony and this year’s ACM Awards, and even nabbed a nomination for Best Country Album at next year’s Grammys. Winning that would mean sweeping the trifecta of country’s biggest honours, a feat Kacey Musgraves pulled off with 2018’s Golden Hour. Suffice it to say, Wilson is the future of country music, commanding the stage like artists with many more miles under their belts. She’s one of just a handful of women in country music to find both critical and commercial success, with four No. 1 radio hits in a format that is still, somehow, very much male-dominated. Recent highlights of Wilson’s include the hit single “Watermelon Moonshine”, a sweet and nostalgic track reminiscent of Deana Carter’s “Strawberry Wine”, as well as a guest feature on “Save Me”, a fan-favourite cut from fellow rising star Jelly Roll’s 2023 record Whitsitt Chapel, and her recent turn for Apple Music Lost & Found, a reimagining of the demo “I Would If I Could”.