Songfacts®:

• In the 1990s, the phrase "What would Jesus do?" became popular in Christian youth groups as a personal motto for behavior and inspired merchandise like bracelets with the abbreviation WWJD. In her song "WWDD," Lainey Wilson turns to a "country music modern-day apostle" whenever life gets tough. She asks herself, "What would Dolly do?"
  
  Wilson, who wrote the tune with Nashville songwriters Casey Beathard ("Like a Wrecking Ball"), Michael Heeney ("Drink In My Hand"), counts Dolly Parton among her biggest musical influences.
  
  "I don't know anyone who don't love Dolly. From her sense of humor, to her look, to her songwritin', to her singin' to how she has such an incredible giving heart, to how she's an awesome businesswoman," she explained in a press release. "Dolly does everything just a little better with a little bow on top."
• This appears on Wilson's first major-label album, Sayin' What I'm Thinkin'. Prior to the album drop in February 2021, Wilson teased the release by introducing a few of the tracks on social media, starting with "WWDD" in October 2020. She had already been performing the new songs at her shows and noticed her Dolly tune was taking off.
  
  "People have started singing along to it before the song is even over," she explained.
  
  Wilson wasn't surprised that so many folks connected with the motto the same way she did. "Dolly is an international icon and role model for a lot of folks around the world, so it's an easy song for a lot of people to relate to," she continued.
• Wilson's "overnight success" took more than a decade. The Louisiana native moved to Nashville in 2011 and spent years playing small shows and honing her songwriting skills before issuing her self-titled debut on Cupit Records in 2014. Another album, Tougher, came two years later via Lone Chief. In 2018, her self-titled, self-released EP earned her a publishing deal with Sony. That same year, she signed a recording contract with BBR Music Group, home of Jason Aldean, Craig Morgan, and Dustin Lynch.
  
  Her first release for the label was the 2019 EP Redneck Hollywood, which features the single that became her breakout hit when it was reintroduced on Say What I'm Thinkin': "Things A Man Oughta Know."
• Wilson got the chance to perform with her idol when she and Parton recorded "Mama He's Crazy" for a Judds tribute album in 2023.
• The album was produced by Jay Joyce, who helmed Miranda Lambert's Wildcard album, which won the Grammy Award for Best Country Album in 2021.
• Wilson was named Female Vocalist of the Year and New Artist of the Year at the 2022 Country Music Association Awards, where Say What I'm Thinkin' was also nominated for Album of the Year (Growin' Up by Luke Combs won).