Nashville 'Has Broke My Heart Many A Times,' But Teamwork, 'Heart And Soul' Powers Through

Now, Wilson is focused on paying that forward to other artists. She’s opened up about the importance of supporting others through the inaugural Emerging Artists Program she curated earlier this year, calling attention to Broadway bands, and collaborating with some of country music’s biggest singer-songwriters. Most recently, Wilson teamed up with HARDY on the chilling duet, “wait in the truck,” with Jelly Roll on the soulful “Save Me,” and will debut a collaboration with beloved country legend Dolly Parton on the A Tribute To The Judds compilation album, set to release on October 27. Wilson and Parton joined forces on The Judds’ 1980s classic, “Mama He’s Crazy” on the album’s star-studded track list.

“It kind of makes you feel like you've got that stamp of approval when other people in the industry are like, ‘I'd like to do a song with you,’ and especially with a Dolly collab, and especially with it being a song of The Judds, I mean, it's crazy how those worlds have kind of collided,” Wilson told iHeartCountry. “I grew up listening to both Dolly and The Judds, and now we're doing a Judds song together. Dolly has taught me so much. The truth is, without even knowing her that well, she has taught me so much about life and just getting to work with her. It makes me feel like, ‘OK, if Dolly agreed to do a song for me, then she believes that I can do it.’ And that's kind how I feel with every collaboration. And that's what I'm ready to do for other people, too. I'm ready to be able to take them under my wing and be like, ‘I believe in you and love you and support you,’ because that goes a long way whether they realize it or not.

“I mean, this is Country Music City,” Wilson continued. “There are so many people here who have huge dreams, and the truth is only a handful of people will actually end up where they want to be. But this is a very — it's a magical place. It has broke my heart many a times, but I'll tell you what, I'm the type of person that I’m like, ‘knock the dust off, get back up and do it again.’ If it's your livelihood, if it's in your heart and soul, then you have to choice to do it. If music is in you, whether that means you're playing (for) thousands of people or whether that means you're playing a little hole in the wall bar, and it doesn't matter. If you have to do it, you got to do it.”

Angie Ward