Lainey Wilson unveiled a behind-the-scenes look at how she and her team created the cinematic “Somewhere Over Laredo” music video on Friday (June 27).
Wilson said she’d “never done a music video like this. I am learning so much. I’m so excited. We’re doing a bunch of CGI stuff. The way that technology and everything has changed over the last few years, it’s given us an opportunity to kind of open up a whole another world, and I’m excited. I’m excited to try things that I’ve never tried and tell a different story.”
Director TK McKamy shared how the reigning Academy of Country Music Entertainer of the Year revealed the Wizard of Oz-inspired world, how she walked the “yellow brick road” with her dog (Hippie Mae), and more. Costume designer Raina Gir explained how she achieved Wilson’s colorful wardrobe in about 24 hours.
“I’m very proud of this song,” Wilson said in a recent interview with iHeartCountry. “I spend a lot of my time in the air on a plane, headed to the next town, to the next show, and I catch myself just looking out the window and dreaming, and thinking, and reminiscing, talking to God, (and) writing songs. And I feel like this song right here, it gave me an opportunity to step back into a pair of shoes that I wore years ago, and I got to tell a story from that perspective. So, and that’s what country music is, you know? It’s about taking you back to a certain time and place, and memory and feeling, and that’s what we wanted to capture in this song right here. And it was cool to be able to tip our hat at the same time to one of the most classic songs of all time.”
Wilson wrote “Somewhere Over Laredo” with Trannie Anderson, Dallas Wilson and Andy Albert. The nostalgic ballad — nodding to one of the most iconic songs of all time, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” — is one of the first tracks to release from Wilson’s deluxe edition of Whirlwind. The full project will arrive on August 22. Watch Wilson’s behind-the-scenes video here, and watch the full music video below.