‘Yellowstone’s Lainey Wilson Tells Hoda Kotb And Jenna Bush Hager That She Auditioned For ‘American Idol’ Seven Times: “I Tried Out For Anything That Would Take Me”

Lainey Wilson recently visited Today With Hoda & Jenna, where she looked back on her path to becoming the Grammy-winning country singer she is today.

Shockingly enough, the Yellowstone star tried to launch her music career on a very different television show: American Idol.

“Let’s talk about rejections, because as you said you were in Nashville for a long time, you were also — I couldn’t believe [this], I felt like this was wrong, but you tried out for American Idol?” Jenna Bush Hager asked her.

“Oh, I tried out for anything that would take me,” Wilson responded. “Somehow, I just turned it into a yes in a weird way. I never would have had the opportunity if it was gonna always be a no.”

She then admitted, “That’s a little crazy, but the truth is you gotta be a little crazy to do this. I mean, it’s wild.”

Wilson didn’t just audition once for the hit ABC show, she auditioned — and got rejected — a whopping seven times.

Fortunately enough, the singer eventually performed on the American Idol stage as a guest performer during the Season 21 finale after she got her big break with her 2020 single “Things a Man Oughta Know.”

She also auditioned and was rejected from The Voice, but she got her due diligence there, too. After she performed at the recent season finale, country music legend and Voice judge Reba McEntire presented her with the honor of becoming a member at the Grand Ole Opry.

On Today, Yellowstone star told Bush Hager and Hoda Kotb that she got her sense of perseverance from her “supportive” family, who stood by her side “whether it was the honky tonk talent searches or the country Colgate showdowns.”

Unfortunately, the Today hosts did not ask Wilson about the one thing that was surely at the top of everyone’s mind: Will she be back for the Yellowstone series finale?

Wilson joined the cast in Season 5, Part 1, when it premiered in 2022. Her character Abby was embroiled in a fateful romance with Ian Bohen’s ranch handler character, Ryan.

She recently said she’s not sure if she’ll have an appearance in Season 5, Part 2, when it airs later this year. “I literally still do not know, but I’m waiting on the call,” she recently said, per Entertainment Tonight.

She mentioned that she would be “shocked” if her character doesn’t return for the series finale, considering how things left off in Part 1.

Today with Hoda & Jenna airs on weekdays at 10/9c on NBC.