The first song I fell in love with
I remember my grandma playing (How Much Is That) Doggie in the Window by Patti Page when I was five years old in the back seat of the car. I could never tell if she was singing “doggie” or “dolly”, but I loved it either way.
The first record I bought
My grandma used to babysit [US country singer] Tim McGraw, 15 minutes down the road from where I lived in Louisiana, so I bought his album A Place in the Sun from Walmart and my sister and I made up a dance routine.
The song I do at karaoke
I’ll pull out some Dolly Parton, 9 to 5 or Two Doors Down, with a few drinks in me. But, at the end of the day, nobody can do it like Dolly.
The song I inexplicably know all the lyrics to
When I first heard I Hope You Dance by Lee Ann Womack featuring Sons of the Desert in sixth grade, it made me feel like I could do anything. It also made me feel like I wanted to make people feel the same way. I still know it word for word.
The song that changed my life
My first hit single, Things a Man Oughta Know, changed my life because it introduced me to a whole crowd of new people. I was proud because it’s a song about the things that my parents taught me: how you should treat people, how others should treat you, and knowing your worth and value. With every song I’ve written since, I feel like I’ve grown as a person, a songwriter, a singer and a musician.
The best song to play at a party
I just love the loud guitars and rock’n’roll feeling of Old Time Rock and Roll by Bob Seger.
The song I can no longer listen to
The Best of Both Worlds by Hannah Montana, because I used to be a Hannah Montana impersonator. It’s not because I don’t love the song any more, it’s just that I sang it so many times, I’m never going to crank it back up.
The song I secretly like
There are probably some bro country songs from 2015, 2016 that my friends would’ve made fun of me for liking. But I feel inspired from everything.
The best song to have sex to
Ask me in a year once I get married!
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The song that gets me up in the morning
Walking on Sunshine by Katrina and the Waves.
The song that makes me cry
Whiskey Lullaby by Alison Krauss and Brad Paisley, which I got to sing at the Grand Ole Opry [a live country music radio broadcast from Nashville] with Brad Paisley a few months back.
The song I’d like played at my funeral
An old hymn called Beulah Land that both my grandpa and my grandma had when they passed away, because they both said they wanted it played attheir funeral.
Wilson’s latest album Whirlwind is rereleased as Whirlwind Deluxe in August.
