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Backstage Country

Miranda Lambert Shares Her Austria Travel Recommendations

After playing a handful of dates in Europe, Miranda Lambert and her husband have been enjoying the European sites, and she posted several photo and video clips of she and…

Miranda Lambert on stage wearing a black cowboy shirt
Jason Kempin/Getty Images

After playing a handful of dates in Europe, Miranda Lambert and her husband have been enjoying the European sites, and she posted several photo and video clips of she and her husband in Austria on Instagram.

Lambert posted several images of the couple at historic sites in Vienna. She captioned the photos, "Austria part 1: Vienna. I can't even find the words. It's the most stunning place I've ever seen. It was our first time in this beautiful country and for sure not the last. You better put Austria on the top of your list if you haven't been already. It was overwhelming in the best way. I lit some candles and said a lot of prayers. So thankful to have been here. The people are so sweet and welcoming, and the food and wine were delish! We are planning our return asap."

Miranda loved the experience in Austria so much that she posted a second bunch of photos from the trip and included a video clip of a duo singing American songs in a pub. She wrote, "Austria part 2. Salzburg. Walks in the rain, late night Käsekrainer (cheesy hot dog and the only thing I've really learned how to say so far), an OG airstream all the way from Jackson Center, Ohio, a cold beer in a good ole Irish pub and all the old world beauty you could possibly imagine. We had the most wonderful time in Salzburg. So much different then Vienna but just as beautiful. With all the charm. If y'all go, stay at the Goldener Hirsch. It's perfect and homey. See you again soon, Austria."

Lambert's Wanda June collections of tableware are now in select Walmart stores, and Miranda recently visited one of those Walmart stores to check out her own stuff. She posted the moment on Instagram.

Lambert posted a video of her walking through the store and finding her plates, glasses, and mugs. She also posted photos of the line and a picture of herself wearing boots, a big belt buckle, and a cowboy hat among the Walmart employees. She wrote, "My grandpa was a greeter at Walmart back in the day. Now my mom and Nonny are there, too. @wandajunehome is in select @walmart stores for the first time!"

Lainey Wilson posted a clip of her new commercial for Wrangler now long ago. It features the country star in her Wranglers surrounded by wild horses. Of course, she's wearing her many Wrangler bell-bottom styles. At the end of the commercial clip, Lainey says, "Wrangler, long live cowgirls."

Wilson captioned the video clip on Instagram, "Turn heads and capture hearts (smiling emoji with cowboy hat). I partnered with @wrangler to show y'all some of their new Fall styles."

Many of her die-hard fans reacted to her post, including one who wrote, "Lainey Wilson do a Flicka remake." Another fan commented, "My favorite new ad or commercial! I'm loving it. Way to go, Lainey." One more fan gushed, "I absolutely LOVE the trail you are blazing for women in country music."

See that post here.

Over the decades, country stars have lent their talent to promote many items through print, TV, and radio commercials, from the 1970s, when Loretta Lynn was talking about Crisco Oil to Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson doing Taco Bell spots. It was actually Toby Keith's Ford commercial that started to get him more noticed by a wider audience. Some credit that commercial with cementing his superstar status.

Even country icon Dolly Parton teamed with her goddaughter Miley Cyrus for a 2022 Superbowl commercial for T-Mobile. Kelsea Ballerini also became a commercial girl when she announced in 2022 that she was an official "Cover Girl" for the makeup brand. Faith Hill has been in Pepsi commercials, Shania Twain has done Revlon commercials and Garth Brooks has done Dr. Pepper commercials.

The news of Wilson's commercial got us thinking: what other country stars have teamed with companies and made commercials? So we dove in and found seven commercials that some of you may recall through the years as companies turned to country music royalty to promote their brands.

Lainey Wilson for Tractor Supply

The new Wrangler ad is not Lainey Wilson's first commercial for TV. She starred in a commercial earlier this year for Tractor Supply. The ad features her driving a four-wheeler, performing on stage, and sitting in her truck with her momma. She also rides a horse in the spot and even drives a tractor. In the ad, she sings the song "For Life Out Here."

Thomas Rhett for Fritos

About a year ago, Thomas Rhett teamed up with Fritos and did a commercial touting the famous chip brand. The company revealed that Thomas's commercial was the first new Fritos television commercial in 20 years. Rhett joined the iconic corn chip brand for its "Down For Everything" campaign. In the fun commercial, he asks a friend what his fave is like, "camper or tent" or "lab or poodle." Rhett is not the first country star to do ads for Fritos; Reba did so in the late 1990s.

Reba McEntire for Kentucky Fried Chicken

Reba was one of the many actors who portrayed Colonel Sanders in fun KFC ads and commercials a few years back. In the ad, you can hear Reba's voice singing in a bar, then turning around and singing, "I'm Colonel Sanders," dressed as the chicken icon, and then throwing a hat to herself, looking like the Reba we all know in the audience. The hilarious video also features actor Don Swayze playing guitar behind her. One of the best lines in the song is, "I'm definitely not a woman." Other actors playing the Colonel in ads included Rob Lowe and comedian Jim Gaffigan.

Miranda Lambert for Ram Trucks

In 2015, Miranda Lambert did a commercial for Ram Trucks. The minute-long ad features Lambert singing her hit "I Got Wings" in front of images of farm life and photo frames of herself throughout her hair. She also drives her Ram truck through a farm and plays guitar on the porch of an old farmhouse.

Garth Brooks for McDonald's

It's hard to find anything of Garth Brooks on YouTube because the superstar actually employs people to take down his stuff daily. However, you can see a commercial he did in the fall of 1994 for McDonald's when he teamed with the burger giant to offer CDs and cassettes of his music for fans who buy a value meal at McDonald's. In promoting the new partnership, I interviewed Garth with some fellow media outlets one afternoon, and he conveniently brought in a sack of McDonald's lunch to munch on while we talked.

Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani for T-Mobile

And who can forget the 2021 Superbowl commercial featuring Blake Shelton, his then girlfriend Gwen Stefani, and their buddy Adam Levine? The funny ad shows Adam setting Blake and Gwen up with one another after Stefani tells him, "I'm ready to start dating again." After she describes what she wants, Adam, through a "spotty" phone service, hears it all wrong and thinks Blake fits the bill perfectly of an "uncultured country guy."

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.