Lainey Wilson’s rise in the country music industry has been nothing short of meteoric. And if any fans wondered if the Grammy-winning Bell Bottom Country represented her career peak, the small-town Louisiana girl proved them wrong with this year’s Whirlwind. Thanks to tracks like “4x4xU,” “Country’s Cool Again,” and “Hang Tight Honey,” Whirlwind gave Wilson her first crossover hit album. During a recent show, the former Entertainer of the Year got vulnerable about navigating the professional “ups” alongside personal “downs” during the last several years.

Lainey Wilson Pours Her Heart Out Onstage

Written by Lainey Wilson, Trannie Anderson and Dallas Wilson, “Middle Of It” shines a spotlight on the less glamorous aspects of fame and live performing: Where you wanna wind up sure ain’t where you are / Praying the dues that you’re paying are worth the price / Hard to tell how far you are from the start and the finish line.

Despite the lyrics’ universal relatability, Wilson admitted during a recent show that she never expected “Middle Of It” to see the light of day. The “Watermelon Moonshine” hitmaker then opened up to her fans about the devastating life event that helped inspire the song.

In 2022, the Grammy winner’s father, Brian Wilson, got hit with some pretty serious health problems while the country star was filming her first season of Yellowstone. He eventually lost his left eye to a fungal infection that July.

“At that time in my life, I was having a hard time navigating it,” Wilson said. “How could I be so excited for what’s happening professionally, but it felt like my heart was breaking on the other hand?”

Talking with friends, Wilson had a powerful realization. “[That] right there, that’s the beauty of it, is the not knowing and the figuring it out,” she said. “And I told them, I feel like I am just smack dab in the middle of it… And I poured my heart out, and this is what we came up with.”

Social Media Reacts: “This Song Has Been Getting Me Through It”

Lainey Wilson shared a video of the performance to her Instagram page on Monday (Dec. 23.) In the caption, she dedicated the performance to “everyone feeling smack dab in the #MiddleOfIt this time of year.”

The holidays can undoubtedly stir up some heavy emotions. And clearly, many of Wilson’s followers could use the message. “This song has been getting me through it,” one Instagram user wrote.

Another added, “Middle of it is such a comforting song.”