Reba McEntire Surprises Lainey Wilson With Grand Ole Opry Invitation on ‘The Voice’ Finale

Lainey Wilson got a whole lot more than she bargained for when she performed live on NBC’s singing contest.

Lainey Wilson at the People’s Choice Awards held at Barker Hangar on Feb. 18, 2024 in Santa Monica, California.

Asher HaVon didn’t have the only big surprise during Tuesday night’s (May 21) finale of The Voice season 25.

Lainey Wilson‘s lifelong dream came true when The Voice mentor Reba McEntire invited her to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry.

“Lainey, I’m so proud of you,” McEntire remarked, after Wilson, Billboard’s recent cover star, performed her new single “Hang Tight Honey”. “You did a wonderful job. And I have heard that I have inspired you and what you’ve done so far. I’m thrilled that I have had anything to do you with your career because you are blowing it up.”

And with that, McEntire made it official. Wilson will be inducted into the Opry.

Hailing from Baskin, LA, Wilson kicked off the recent 2024 ACM Awards with a mini-medley performance (including a sweet taste of “Hang Tight Honey”) and won for female artist of the year, one of her five nominations on the evening.

“I was so proud of you at the ACMs the other night,” McEntire continued, “and I couldn’t be more proud to be the one that helps you continue to bridge the gap between our generations, and keep them all going.” Wilson will be elevated into the Opry during a ceremony in Nashville on June 7.

The 32-year old recounted visiting the Opry with her family at age 9. “I knew that I wanted to play there. I wanted to do it. It’s so crazy that you’re asking me to be a member because I look up to you so much.”

Wilson, a Record Breaker Award at Billboard‘s Country Power Players, has been carving out her own path in country music in recent years.

“Save Me,” her duet with Jelly Roll, reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart in December, soon after her coming-of-age song “Watermelon Moonshine” had summited the list — for the shortest stint between No. 1s for a female artist in the chart’s 34-year history.

“Watermelon Moonshine” nabbed both the Academy of Country Music (ACM) and Country Music Association Awards for album of the year, as well as the Grammy for best country album — only the ninth record ever to complete that trifecta. And at November’s CMA Awards, Wilson became the first woman to win entertainer of the year since Taylor Swift in 2011 and the first artist since Garth Brooks in 1991 to win best new artist one year and entertainer of the year the next.

The good times keep on rolling when Wilson opens her Bell Bottoms Up Bar, located at 120 South 3rd Ave., on May 31. The same day, the rising star launches her Country’s Cool Again Tour with two headlining shows at Nashville’s Ascend Amphitheater.