I simply have no idea how country music superstar Lainey Wilson kept her composure during this performance because I sure can’t say the same for myself.
Over the weekend, the Louisiana native, who’s gearing up to host the 60th Annual CMA Awards in just over a week, took the stage at another one of Nashville’s most historic venues. Joining a star-studded lineup that included country legend Vince Gill, Paul Franklin, and Switchfoot, who made their Opry debut, Wilson hit up the iconic Grand Ole Opry stage.
In honor of Wilson’s return, RFD-TV took a trip down memory lane, resurfacing one of her most heartfelt Opry performances: a special tribute to a young fan who had become an internet sensation while documenting his battle with cancer. Before launching into the emotional performance, Wilson opened up to the crowd, saying, “I was sitting on the couch today, and I just got married a couple of months ago, by the way; your girl got hitched.”
Continuing, she added, “It’s weird to call him my husband now, but my husband walks in the house, and he had tears in his eyes, and he said, ‘Lainey, you know that little boy that we’ve been watching those videos of? His name’s Will Roberts. He had a long battle with cancer, and he lost that battle today.” The young boy, a 15-year-old Alabama native, passed away earlier this summer from stage-four bone cancer, which his mother, Brittney, announced in a tragic post on her Facebook.
Wilson, visibly touched by his story, shared, “Just watching the videos of this little boy, watching his heart, the way that he would pour it out, you could just see the pureness; you could see the love of Jesus Christ in his heart.” She emphasized, “You could just feel it, even through the screen.”
Honoring his memory and the smiles he brought to his many viewers (including Wilson and her husband), she decided to sing a classic hymn for Will, “I’ll Fly Away.” Opening up the performance to everyone who may be grieving or thinking of someone special in the audience, she made sure to note, “If you’ve ever lost anybody, this is one of my favorite songs that I used to sing in church, so y’all gonna know this one.”
By the looks of the clip, Wilson, putting an upbeat honky tonk spin on the classic, had the whole crowd singing along. It was also famously covered by Alan Jackson on his hymnal album, Precious Memories, back in 2006 (which, if you haven’t heard, you need to check out below).