HARDY & Lainey Wilson on 'The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'

HARDY & Lainey Wilson Take to the ‘Tonight Show’ with Radio Hit ‘Wait In The Truck’

Rising country music star and longtime singer-songwriter Michael Hardy, known professionally as HARDY, debuted his radio hit single, “wait in the truck,” featuring Lainey Wilson on August 29th, 2022. The murder ballad began dominating airwaves months before HARDY’s full-length album featuring the song even debuted. In celebration of the mockingbird & THE CROW‘s drop on January 20th, HARDY and Lainey Wilson again teamed up for a performance of “wait in the truck” on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Check out the chilling performance below.

https://youtu.be/s5fSC_99Ug4

HARDY and Lainey Wilson have performed their hit song together on multiple occasions, and both have spoken out about its message and what they hope it does for listeners. During an interview last fall, Wilson said, “I hope the people who hear it who are being abused feel like they’re not alone.”

On the other hand, she added, “I hope the people doing [the abusing] who hear it, I hope it haunts them. I hope they have a gut check.”

According to Taste of Country, HARDY’s radio hit was born out of a conversation with songwriter Hunter Phelps about what each of them might do if their respective significant others were ever attacked. Musically and thematically, the outlet further states “wait in the truck” sees influences from Blake Shelton‘s 2001 classic, “Ol’ Red.”

‘Wait in the Truck’ Isn’t the Only HARDY Song with a Strong Message

What differs HARDY from other country music songwriters is that he isn’t afraid to authentically be himself. He proves as much with his 17-song half-country/half-rock album the mockingbird & THE CROW. As such, “wait in the truck” is hardly the first song of his to hit radio airwaves with a powerful message. In October, HARDY spoke out about why he released his emotionally impactful ballad “Give Heaven Some Hell” as a single.

“It was such an obvious choice at the time,” the 32-year-old singer-songwriter said of his third radio single.

“Give Heaven Some Hell” is equally powerful as “wait in the truck” in its emotional capacity but in a completely different manner. “wait in the truck” speaks to topics of domestic abuse and incarceration. “Give Heaven Some Hell,” on the other hand, speaks about the loss of a loved one, painting pictures of what heaven might be like after our loved ones leave us.

Of the song’s ability to speak to listeners, he continued, “I could go on my Instagram and hit refresh, and by the end of this call someone will have contacted me and told me a story about how ‘Give Heaven Some Hell’ connected with him.”

Given the success “Give Heaven Some Hell” has seen on country radio, it’s interesting to think HARDY had actually considered releasing a completely different kind of song as his third single. During that same interview, he shared that if he had not chosen “Give Heaven Some Hell,” he would have gone with the song “Boyfriend,” another popular tune off his debut album A Rock.