INTERVIEW: Cole Swindell and Lainey Wilson on New Duet

We wrote the song and we wanted it to be the right person. When her name came up, I was like, “That’s perfect,” because I legit am a fan. I love how country she is, how real she is. We’re friends, and just anytime you’re around her you just feel that energy. She’s got it. That song, it is kind of rocking and whatever, but it just shows you she can do anything. She nailed it, and I could not be more excited to have her be a part of this. I know she’s excited, so it makes it… We’re all just ready for it to be out there.

She lives in Charlotte, and we were about to shoot the video for “Some Habits”. I texted my team and I was like, “Hey, shouldn’t I see the list of people we’re picking from to be in this video?” I’m thinking about her. I’m like, “She might not like that. Let’s figure this out. This song means a lot to me.” I kind of felt that way about her then, and I asked her, I said, “Hey, would you be willing to come to Nashville and maybe be in the video? It’s just going to be fun.” She was like, “I’d be down for that.” That was the first time we really got to spend more than 10 minutes together and hung out. Yeah, so kind of like a first date.

I met her for the first time after a BMI awards years ago. I went to a Sony ATV party, and she was there and somebody said, “Hey, I want you to meet Lainey Wilson. She’s up and coming. She’s a bad ass. You got to meet her.” I could just tell right then, just her charisma, the way she was. I hadn’t really heard her music at that point. Then just through the years, I’ve heard her music and obviously “Things A Man Oughta Know”, that was one of the first ones I heard. I’m just so happy for her because she deserves all the success. She’s a great songwriter, and her vocal… Like I said, I love all types of music, but she’s real country. She’s from Louisiana. She is that. Just to meet somebody that authentic I think was cool for me.

I wrote it with two of the best, Chase McGill and Jessi Alexander. I remember when we were writing it, it was actually in… I guess it was maybe ’18 was my first headlining tour out with Dustin Lynch, and Lauren Alaina. That was the run we wrote it on. It was like the last show, and we were in New Orleans. We wrote that song. Chase reminded of that a few weeks ago, because you’re on the road and you forget when you wrote this and that, but I was like, “Oh my God, that’s the one we wrote.” We thought it was special, but just the style of it, and just what you just said, the whole just answering each other. A lot of duets is first verse, chorus, and then comes the duet part. This one, it grabbed you from the beginning I think. That’s a lot of what it makes it special.

Some of my songs you hear, and they are, they’re way more commercial than a song like “Some Habits”. That’s the thing. You make an album hoping everybody, the world is going to hear all of the songs, and that isn’t how it is. So single-driven, I feel like that whatever’s on the radio, that’s who you are. That’s all they are. I appreciate you bringing that up because when I switched things up and wanted Zach to do some of my songs, it really was that feel of I want it to be more stripped down and show that side of me, because I love that stuff too. Every song is different.

For me, that was strategic. I said, I’m going to have the fun stuff on this album. I had “Single Saturday Night”, it is what it is. A song like “Some Habits” shows a different side. I think just like this, “Never Say Never” is a total different sound than that. There are going to be more songs like “Some Habits” on this next project, and I can’t wait. I wish I could play them all for you now.

Lainey Wilson on how Cole Swindell asked her to collaborate on “Never Say Never”

He actually sent me the song when I was on my first vacation that I had taken in like 10 years. I was sitting on the beach in Mexico, drinking a Pina Colada and Cole Swindel texts me. And he says, “Hey, I’ve got this song. I would love for you to be a part of it. I want to hear what you think about it.” And I’m not even playing and it wasn’t because I was a little tipsy. I listened to the first verse and I knew it was special. It made me feel something, it was relatable. It told a story. And I said, “Sign me up.”

Lainey Wilson on recording “Never Say Never” with Cole Swindell

It was crazy. When we went in to track the song, we were actually in there together. The whole band was in there. We knew immediately it was magical. It literally just kind of did its thing organically. And of course, that crowd was just a genius too. And I love that it’s got the kind of somber feeling in the beginning and all of a sudden it just gets rocking. It kind of gives you the best of both worlds, and Cole and I were in there just hooting and hollering.
We were like, “Oh, my God, holy s***.” Like this is even cooler than we thought it was going to be. And that’s always a good feeling.