A Four-Year-Old From a 600-Person Town Just Stole the Internet — And Caught Lainey Wilson’s Attention
In a town where nearly everyone knows each other, moments like this don’t come around often. But in Viburnum, population roughly 600, a four-year-old girl named Amelia Wigger just created one — and it traveled far beyond the borders of her hometown.
During Viburnum’s annual fall festival, the Tiny Tot Pageant is usually a sweet, lighthearted tradition. Preschoolers dress up, show off small talents, and enjoy their moment on stage. This year, however, one performance quietly turned into something much bigger.
Dressed head-to-toe in pink bell bottoms, a cowboy hat, fringe vest, and western belt, Amelia stepped onto the stage and delivered a confident, heartfelt rendition of “Somewhere Over Laredo,” a song made famous by country star Lainey Wilson. There were no nerves. No hesitation. Just a tiny voice carrying a song far beyond the small-town crowd watching her.
According to her mother, Averie, this was Amelia’s first time singing in front of an audience. But you’d never know it from the way she handled the spotlight.
“She said she wasn’t scared at all,” Averie shared. “We were so proud of her courage.”
Music has always been part of Amelia’s world. Averie says her daughter has been singing since she was barely a year old, humming along and somehow memorizing lyrics almost instantly. Lainey Wilson’s music, in particular, has become a favorite — so much so that Amelia knows nearly every song from Wilson’s Whirlwind album.
That connection made the song choice easy. Amelia didn’t just want to sing like Lainey Wilson — she wanted to be her.
“She says Lainey has blonde hair like her, rides horses like her, and she wants to be just like her when she grows up,” Averie explained. “So of course, she had to have the outfit to match.”
The moment might have ended there — a proud family memory tucked away in a small Missouri town — if not for one thing. The performance was posted to TikTok.
Within days, the video exploded. Views climbed past 100,000. Comments flooded in, praising Amelia’s confidence, voice, and fearless stage presence. And then something unexpected happened.
Lainey Wilson herself saw the video.
“Superstar!! Killlllllled it sister,” the singer commented, before later sharing Amelia’s performance to her own Instagram story. For the Wigger family, the moment felt unreal.
“When Lainey first commented, we almost cried,” Averie admitted. “And when she shared it, we were literally shaking.”
When Averie told Amelia about the shout-out, the four-year-old’s reaction summed it up perfectly.
“Mom… you mean real Lainey Wilson?” she asked.
At Amelia’s age, fame doesn’t quite make sense yet. But she does understand one thing: famous people are on TV — and Lainey Wilson is definitely on TV.
The story doesn’t end online. Thanks to a friend who secured tickets, Amelia will soon experience another first: her very first concert. On October 16, she and her family will attend Lainey Wilson’s Whirlwind Tour stop at Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre.
“I can’t wait to watch her take it all in,” Averie said. “I can’t wait.”
From a tiny town pageant stage to a viral moment shared by her idol, Amelia Wigger’s story is a reminder that sometimes the biggest dreams begin in the smallest places. And at just four years old, this is only the beginning of her journey.
