Lainey Wilson says her dad taught her to have a “Heart Like a Truck”

Lainey Wilson’s new single, “Heart Like a Truck,” is all about finding strength through tough times — a familiar subject matter to the singer.

While her career’s been reaching new heights, Lainey has been grappling with some difficult family issues: Her dad was hospitalized this summer, and she even canceled a couple of shows in order to be by his side.

“The person who taught me to have a ‘Heart Like a Truck’ is my daddy,” the singer says in an interview with CMT. “And my daddy has been in the hospital for a couple months now.”

Though she takes all the time she can to be with family, Lainey has also stayed true to doing the job that she loves — playing in front of fans — because her parents raised her to be resilient and tough.

“I’ve been having to play shows and put on a happy face and get up there and do my job, because that’s what my parents have taught me to do. And that’s what they would want me to do,” she continues. “They helped me get to this point and they were my believers before anybody was.”

Lainey goes on to say that she was raised to get back on the horse after falling off — sometimes literally. “Going through things as a little girl, whether you fall off your bike or you fall off a horse or whatever, my parents would say, ‘Get up, dust the dirt off, you got it,’” she says.

Lainey’s tough upbringing is paying off: She was recently named CMT’s Breakout Artist of the Year for 2022 and has earned a whopping six nominations headed into this year’s CMA Awards.