Getty Former "Idol" judge Keith Urban congratulates Lainey Wilson at the ACM Awards in May 2023
Over the last 21 years, “American Idol” has become the launching pad for many country music stars including Carrie Underwood, Scotty McCreery, Lauren Alaina, Jimmie Allen, Gabby Barrett, and Chayce Beckham. But numerous country stars have said that despite trying, they never made it through the audition process.
The latest superstar to reveal she was rejected by “Idol” producers is Lainey Wilson, who finally made it on the show as a chart-topping star when she performed on the season 21 finale in May 2023. Lainey has since revealed that she auditioned for “Idol” seven times and never made it through to sing for the judges.
Wilson’s career is doing just fine without the Golden Ticket, though. She’s currently climbing the charts with Alaina on their duet “Thicc as Thieves” and recently won four Academy of Country Music (ACM) Awards including Album of the Year and Best Female Vocalist. Here’s what you need to know:
Lainey Wilson Celebrates ‘Finally’ Making It on ‘American Idol’
ABCMaryBeth Byrd, Lainey Wilson and Warren Peay perform on “American Idol” in May 2023
Wilson, 31, was excited to finally get a chance to grace the “American Idol” stage during the season 21 finale, performing “Save Me” with fellow country star Jelly Roll and later performing her chart-topping hit “Heart Like a Truck” with Top 10 contestants MaryBeth Byrd and Warren Peay. It’s a song that Byrd had performed earlier in the season, blowing away the judges in the process.
After their performance together, Byrd wrote on Instagram, “What a dream y’all…One of the realest people in the industry. This woman deserves everything! 🤍”
The night was one Wilson had dreamed of for many years, too, though she got to the “Idol” stage in a different way than she originally hoped.
“I finally made it on ‘American Idol,” she said while guest-hosting the “Country Countdown USA” radio show the following week. “I tried out 7 times. I took the long way around, but finally made it on ‘American Idol.’ I never made it through. I never made it past the first round.”
Wilson added that she also tried out for “The Voice,” but didn’t get through there, either.
Despite the many rejections, she said, “I’m grateful my story ended the way that it did.”
Born and raised in a tiny Louisiana town, Wilson moved to Nashville in 2011 and spent 10 years playing in clubs and bars before she finally scored a big hit with her 2021 album, “Sayin’ What I’m Thinkin’,” according to the Los Angeles Times.
“What do they call it? The 11-year overnight sensation?” she joked to the newspaper. “There’s definitely been times when I was like, ‘Dang, I wish this would’ve happened sooner.’ But I feel like I’ve got more to say now. I’ve been through more life. I’ve been through more heartbreaks.”
In another full-circle “Idol” moment, one of Wilson’s current hits is a duet with season 10 runner-up Lauren Alaina, called “Thicc as Thieves,” which includes a sample of “Idol” judge Luke Bryan’s monster hit “Country Girl Shake It For Me.”
On SiriusXM’s “The Highway” in June, Alaina said, “She’s just wonderful. She has been crushing it. I’m so proud of her. She has worked her tail off … for the past 12 years.”
Other Music Stars Have Revealed They Didn’t Make It Through ‘Idol’ Auditions
Though “American Idol” has launched the careers of lots of stars, there are many other successful musicians — including lots of country artists — who’ve revealed that they tried and couldn’t get on the show before hitting it big on their own.
In 2019, country singer Maren Morris opened up on “Late Night With Seth Meyers” about her rough audition during the early days of “Idol,” before they began holding auditions virtually.
“I have this very traumatic, vivid memory of auditioning for ‘American Idol’ when I was 17, in Dallas where I’m from,” she recalled. “It was at the Cowboys stadium, and you know you don’t see Paula, and Simon, and Randy in the first-go audition. It’s like a stadium cattle call, and you audition for a 20-year-old producer who has probably no music cred. You just sing for like eight seconds and sing your heart out, and then my entire group got cut, and they were like ‘Sorry. You have to take the walk of shame.'”
Morris remembered crying all the way home, but noted that given her successful career, “It all worked out.”
Other stars have shared their own “Idol” rejection stories, including some who later wound up on the show as celebrity mentors or performers. In 2019, singer-songwriter Colbie Caillat performed a duet with eventual winner Maddie Poppe and told her that she had auditioned for the show herself with the song “Bubbly,” which eventually became a huge hit.
“You know, the craziest thing is that I auditioned for ‘American Idol’ twice,” she told Poppe on the show. “I actually came in with my song ‘Bubbly.’ But, I wasn’t ready at all. I had such stage fright, and I realized I had a lot of work to do with myself.”
Pop star Bebe Rexha appeared on the same episode in 2019 and revealed that she, too, had auditioned for “Idol” but didn’t make it. When the show aired, she tweeted a photo of herself on the “Idol set.”
“10 years ago my mother and I waited 10 hours on line to audition for American Idol,” she wrote. “I didn’t make it through. This year I’m mentoring!”
Others famous musicians who have shared stories of getting a “no” during their “Idol” auditions, according to Music Mayhem, include Hillary Scott of Lady A, country artists Kane Brown and Chris lane, Grammy winning pop star Tori Kelly, and “This Is Us” actress Chrissy Metz.