Lainey Wilson's success on country music's hard-to-break-into-for-women airwaves has shattered a record that stood for 40 years.
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Either Wilson's "Heart Like a Truck" or her Hardy collaboration "Wait in the Truck" has topped the airplay chart two of the last three weeks. It's the shortest gap between country radio No. 1s ever for a woman. The record was previously set in 1983 by Crystal Gayle. During her commercial heyday, Gayle earned consecutive No. 1s in an eight-week span. Forty years ago, the "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue" hitmaker topped the charts with "Baby, What About You," "Till I Gain Control Again," and "Our Love Is on the Faultline."
The one-two shot of Wilson hits had already made history. Earlier this year, they made her the first woman in over a decade to have two songs simultaneously in country radio's Top 10.
Neither hit is a typical truck song. "Heart Like a Truck" stands as one of the strongest introductions to Wilson's rock-fueled, storytelling-driven take on mainstream country, while "Wait in the Truck" is a slow-burning country murder ballad that tells the story of a man (portrayed by Hardy) who uses his own kind of justice against another man who abuses a woman.
"When I think about the last year, whether it was (winning Song of the Year) at the ACM Awards or whether it was having two No. 1 songs ... or being nominated for six CMA Awards, it's all a little bit surreal," Wilson said (as quoted by CMT). "But it's the best feeling in the world, too. I know that also I'm like, 'It's time for me to step it up and put pressure on myself.'"
Wilson's record-shattering run on country radio further solidifies the Yellowstone regular's status as a multimedia megastar.
