Whirlwind (Lainey Wilson album)

Whirlwind
Studio album by Lainey Wilson
Released	August 23, 2024 (2024-08-23)
Genre	Country
Length	51:47
Label	BBR
Producer	Jay Joyce
Lainey Wilson chronology
Bell Bottom Country (2022) Whirlwind (2024)
Singles from Whirlwind
"Hang Tight Honey" Released: May 20, 2024 "4x4xU" Released: September 3, 2024

Whirlwind is the fifth studio album by American country singer Lainey Wilson. It was released on August 23, 2024, by BBR Music Group. The lead single from the album is "Hang Tight Honey". ^[1]

Background

Wilson co-wrote all 14 of the tracks on Whirlwind. ^[2] Due to her busy schedule, Wilson said she focused on "quality over quantity" with respect to writing songs for Whirlwind, a different approach compared to her past projects. ^[3] She wrote several songs with The Heart Wranglers, a songwriting collective consisting of herself, Trannie Anderson, and Dallas Wilson, as well as new collaborators such as Jon Decious. ^[3] The album features a collaboration with Miranda Lambert on "Good Horses", which the two co-wrote with Luke Dick at Lambert's farm in May 2023, and previewed it with a joint performance in Las Vegas ahead of its release. ^[4]

The album's title and release date were announced on May 9, 2024, ^[5] with the tracklisting following in June. ^[6] Her third studio album for BBR Music Group, Wilson once again recruited Jay Joyce to helm production, though this time the singer enlisted her touring band to play on the record instead of utilizing studio musicians. ^[5] In conjunction with the album announcement, Wilson appeared on the cover of Billboard , premiered the trailer for her Hulu-exclusive documentary, Lainey Wilson: Bell Bottom Country, and shared news that she would be opening the Bell Bottoms Up bar in Nashville. ^[5]

"Hang Tight Honey" was released on May 20, 2024, as the album's lead single. ^[1] "Country's Cool Again", "4x4xU" and "Good Horses" were issued ahead of the album as promotional singles. ^[2] "4x4xU" was announced alongside the album's release as its second single to country radio, impacting on September 3, 2024. ^[7] It was the most-added song at the format upon impact, receiving 65 first-week adds. ^[8]

Wilson embarked on her headlining Country's Cool Again Tour on May 31, 2024, in support of the album. ^[1] She also performed several tracks from the album on NPR's Tiny Desk series on August 27, 2024. ^[9]

Commercial performance

Whirlwind debuted at number eight on the Billboard 200 and number three on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart, with first-week totals of 48,000 equivalent units, marking Wilson's first top 10 showing on the former chart and best charting week to date in terms of units. ^[10]

Track listing

Whirlwind track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Keep Up with Jones"	Lainey Wilson Josh Kear Wyatt McCubbin	3:47
2.	"Country's Cool Again"	L. Wilson Trannie Anderson Aslan Freeman Dallas Wilson	3:38
3.	"Good Horses" (featuring Miranda Lambert)	L. Wilson Luke Dick Miranda Lambert	3:57
4.	"Broken Hearts Still Beat"	L. Wilson Blake Pendergrass Josh Thompson D. Wilson	2:48
5.	"Whirlwind"	L. Wilson Anderson D. Wilson	4:00
6.	"Call a Cowboy"	L. Wilson Anderson D. Wilson	3:47
7.	"Hang Tight Honey"	L. Wilson Jason Nix Paul Sikes Driver Williams	3:09
8.	"Bar in Baton Rouge"	L. Wilson Anderson Kasey Tyndall Jason Nix	5:07
9.	"Counting Chickens"	L. Wilson Anderson Jon Decious Kear D. Wilson	3:34
10.	"4x4xU"	L. Wilson Decious Aaron Raitiere	3:59
11.	"Ring Finger"	L. Wilson Decious Marti Dodson Raitiere	3:39
12.	"Middle of It"	L. Wilson Anderson D. Wilson	3:26
13.	"Devil Don't Go There"	L. Wilson Abram Dean Joe Fox Lance Miller	3:30
14.	"Whiskey Colored Crayon"	L. Wilson Kear McCubbin	3:26
Total length:			51:47

Whirlwind — Walmart exclusive version ^[11]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
15.	"Where the Sun Don't Shine"	L. Wilson Anderson D. Wilson	3:31
Total length:			55:18

Personnel

Musicians

• Lainey Wilson – lead vocals
• Rob McNelley – electric guitar (all tracks), acoustic guitar (track 9)
• Jay Joyce – Hammond B3 organ (tracks 1, 2, 4–8, 10, 13), claps (1, 3), Omnichord synthesizer (1), programming (2–14), percussion (2–5, 7, 14), keyboards (2–5), backing vocals (2, 5, 7, 11); djembe drums, Farfisa organ (2); electric guitar (3–14), acoustic guitar (3, 6, 7), timpani (3, 7), drums (6), synth bass (14)
• Aslan Freeman – acoustic guitar (tracks 1, 3, 5–7, 9, 11, 13, 14), electric guitar (2, 4, 8, 10, 12, 13)
• Tommy Scifres – bass (tracks 1–13)
• Fred Eltringham – drums (tracks 1–13)
• Matt Nolan – drums (1, 3–9, 11, 13), percussion (2, 10), djembe drums (10, 12)
• Kevin Nolan – electric guitar (tracls 1, 6–9, 11, 13), Rhodes piano (2, 10), piano (3–5, 11), mandolin (3, 6), acoustic guitar (3, 12), claps (3), synth bass (12)
• Wyatt McCubbin – backing vocals (tracks 1, 14)
• Trannie Anderson – backing vocals (tracks 2–13)
• Bryan Sutton – acoustic guitar (tracks 2–4)
• Jason Hall – backing vocals (tracks 2, 5, 7)
• Steve Fishell – pedal steel guitar (tracks 2, 6)
• Dallas Wilson – backing vocals (tracks 2, 12)
• Bobby Louden – backing vocals (track 2)
• Monroe the Dog – sound effects (track 2)
• Miranda Lambert – vocals (track 3)

Technical

• Jay Joyce – production, mixing
• Andrew Mendelson – mastering (tracks 1, 3–14)
• Pete Lyman – mastering (tracks 2, 7)
• Jason Hall – mixing (tracks 2, 4–14), engineering (all tracks)
• Jimmy Mansfield – engineering
• Bobby Louden – engineering (tracks 1, 3–14), engineering assistance (2)
• Court Blankenship – production assistance (track 2)

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for Whirlwind Chart (2024) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA) [12] 19 Australian Country Albums (ARIA) [13] 3 Canadian Albums (Billboard) [14] 19 Scottish Albums (OCC) [15] 3 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [16] 25 UK Albums (OCC) [17] 13 UK Country Albums (OCC) [18] 1 UK Independent Albums (OCC) [19] 2 US Billboard 200 [20] 8 US Independent Albums (Billboard) [21] 1 US Top Country Albums (Billboard) [22] 3

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for Whirlwind Chart (2024) Position Australian Country Albums (ARIA) [23] 50 US Top Country Albums (Billboard) [24] 65

Accolades

Year-end lists

Publication	Rank	List
Billboard	2	The 10 Best Country Albums of 2024 [25]
Rolling Stone	8	The 30 Best Country Albums of 2024 [26]
Taste of Country	5	The 10 Best Country Albums of 2024 [27]

References

1. Marcus K. Dowling (May 12, 2024). "Lainey Wilson releases 'empowering' new single 'Hang Tight Honey'". The Tennessean . Retrieved July 3, 2024.
2. LB Cantrell (June 25, 2024). "Lainey Wilson Announces New Track, Reveals Track List For Upcoming Album". Music Row. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
3. Newman, Melinda (May 9, 2024). "Lainey Wilson Talks Creating New Album 'Whirlwind' Amid Chaos: 'We Had to Cut the S–t'". Billboard . Retrieved May 9, 2024.
4. Clayton Edwards (January 31, 2024). "Lainey Wilson Recalls Writing Unreleased Song "Good Horses" With Miranda Lambert". American Songwriter . Retrieved July 3, 2024.
5. Joseph Hudak (May 9, 2024). "Lainey Wilson Readies New Album 'Whirlwind'". Rolling Stone . Retrieved July 3, 2024.
6. Althea Legaspi (June 25, 2024). "Lainey Wilson Shares 'Whirlwind' Track List Featuring a Miranda Lambert Collab". Rolling Stone . Retrieved July 3, 2024.
7. "Country Aircheck Weekly August 26, 2024, Issue 924" (PDF). Country Aircheck. August 26, 2024. Retrieved August 27, 2024.
8. "Country Aircheck Weekly September 3, 2024, Issue 925" (PDF). Country Aircheck. September 3, 2024. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
9. Kalia Richardson (August 27, 2024). "Lainey Wilson Brings 'Whirlwind' to NPR's 'Tiny Desk' Stage". Rolling Stone . Retrieved September 16, 2024.
10. Caulfield, Keith (September 3, 2024). "Sabrina Carpenter's Short n' Sweet Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
11. "Lainey Wilson - Whirlwind (Walmart Exclusive) - Music & Performance - CD [Exclusive]". Walmart.com. Target. Retrieved October 1, 2024.
12. "ARIA Top 50 Albums Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. September 2, 2024. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
13. "ARIA Top 40 Country Albums Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. September 2, 2024. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
14. "Lainey Wilson Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
15. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 31, 2024.
16. "Swisscharts.com – Lainey Wilson – Whirlwind". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 1, 2024.
17. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
18. "Official Country Artists Albums Chart Top 20". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
19. "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 31, 2024.
20. "Lainey Wilson Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
21. "Lainey Wilson Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
22. "Lainey Wilson Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
23. "ARIA Top 50 Country Albums for 2024". Australian Recording Industry Association . Retrieved January 14, 2025.
24. "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2024". Billboard . Retrieved January 2, 2025.
25. "Staff Picks: 10 Best Country Albums of 2024". Billboard . December 10, 2024. Retrieved December 12, 2024.
26. "Best Country Albums of 2024". Rolling Stone . December 11, 2024. Retrieved December 12, 2024.
27. Carena Liptak (December 4, 2024). "The 10 Best Country Albums of 2024". Taste of Country . Retrieved December 12, 2024.