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HARDY Explains How ‘Wait In The Truck’ Came About

HARDY’s “Wait In The Truck” has become a major award winner, having just won three awards for HARDY at the ACM Awards earlier this month (5/11), including Visual Media of…

HARDY Explains How 'Wait In The Truck' Came About
Jason Kempin/Getty Images

HARDY's "Wait In The Truck" has become a major award winner, having just won three awards for HARDY at the ACM Awards earlier this month (5/11), including Visual Media of the Year for the compelling video of the song.

In a recent interview, HARDY said the song came about fairly simply. He explained, "I was in Atlanta, and my girlfriend was at a party and said a guy made a pass at her. So I was fired up about it and thought if it had gotten any worse, I'd have found out where he lived and told my girlfriend to wait in the truck. We decided to make a really cool story about it. The song wrote itself."

HARDY added that the song got heavier than he originally intended. He said, "In the second verse when we murder the guy, and say how we did it, I didn't think we were gonna do that at the start. By then, I knew I was gonna cut the song. I said, 'If I'm doin' it, we're killin' the guy.'"

HARDY says he almost did not perform the song at last fall's CMA Awards but changed his mind. He explained, "I originally was going to miss the CMAs because I got married the week before, and we were going on our honeymoon. Then I found out I won Songwriter of the Year, so we decided to stay. The CMAs were the next day, so we were able to do the song on the show."

In the same interview, HARDY recalled picking Lainey Wilson as his duet partner on the song. He offered, "We met on Morgan's first club tour. She's one of the most authentic artists in Nashville. She is the same on and off the stage. When she sings, I believe everything she says. I knew if she sang it with conviction, people would believe it. I knew she was gonna crush it, and she did."

Country music star Hardy has been making strides in his career in 2022 as he and Lainey Wilson released a haunting murder ballad called "Wait In The Truck," and country radio has been embracing it.

Hardy is also set to tour with his friend Morgan Wallen this fall after he had to cancel a few of his shows after a bad bus crash near Nashville on October 2 sent him and some of his crew to the hospital, where his bus driver Ricky remains in serious condition.

Hardy also won his second "Songwriter of the Year" award from the ACM in the spring. Hardy is a co-writer of Blake Shelton's powerful "God's Country."

We take a look at some shots from the last few years as Hardy built up his rising career.

15th Annual Academy of Country Music Honors - Backstage

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Songwriter of the Year Honoree HARDY attends the 15th Annual Academy Of Country Music Honors at Ryman Auditorium on August 24, 2022 in Nashville, Tennessee.


The 53rd Annual CMA Awards - Arrivals

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Hardy attends the 53rd annual CMA Awards at the Music City Center on November 13, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee.


14th Annual Academy Of Country Music Honors - Pre-Show Arrivals

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Hardy attends the 14th Annual Academy Of Country Music Honors at the Ryman Auditorium on August 25, 2021 in Nashville, Tennessee.


15th Annual Academy of Country Music Honors - Backstage

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ERNEST, ACM Milestone Award Honoree Morgan Wallen, and ACM Songwriter of the Year Honoree HARDY attend the 15th Annual Academy Of Country Music Honors at Ryman Auditorium on August 24, 2022 in Nashville, Tennessee.


15th Annual Academy Of Country Music Honors - Red Carpet

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Songwriter of the Year Honoree Hardy (L) and Caleigh Ryan attend the 15th Annual Academy Of Country Music Honors at Ryman Auditorium on August 24, 2022 in Nashville, Tennessee.


Morgan Wallen In Concert - New York, New York

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HARDY opens for Margan Wallen at Irving Plaza on February 21, 2019 in New York City.


15th Annual Academy Of Country Music Honors - Show

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Morgan Wallen and HARDY onstage during the 15th Annual Academy Of Country Music Honors at Ryman Auditorium on August 24, 2022 in Nashville, Tennessee.


14th Annual Academy Of Country Music Honors - Pre-Show Arrivals

GettyImages-1336593094.jpgJason Kempin/Getty Images

Hardy and Caleigh Ryan attend the 14th Annual Academy Of Country Music Honors at the Ryman Auditorium on August 25, 2021 in Nashville, Tennessee.


14th Annual Academy Of Country Music Honors - Show

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Lauren Alaina, Hardy and Devin Dawson attend the 14th Annual Academy Of Country Music Honors at the Ryman Auditorium on August 25, 2021 in Nashville, Tennessee.


A Very Brady HGTV Lodge – Day 2

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Hardy performs onstage in the HGTV Lodge at CMA Music Fest on June 07, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee.

Nancy Brooks has been working in the country music industry for almost 30 years. She has interviewed pretty much any country star you can think of. In the late 1990s, she started working with Dolly Parton. And yes, Nancy reports that Parton is as sweet as you would think. She loves her life in country music and has been backstage at every CMA Awards show since the late 1990s. Many of her stories are from her one-on-one interviews. She was there at the beginning of the incredible careers of many music superstars today, including Taylor Swift, Shania Twain, and Blake Shelton, and has interviewed them multiple times throughout the years.