Stephen Wilson Jr. has officially entered a new era that’s part grunge, part country, part divine alignment… and 100% Gary.
The Indiana-born, Nashville-based breakout opened the 2025 SESAC Nashville Music Awards on Sunday (November 16) with the first-ever performance of his fiery new single “Gary,” only days before taking the CMA Awards stage twice and celebrating his first-ever nomination for New Artist of the Year. But before the biggest week of his career kicked off, he stopped on the red carpet to give Celeb Secrets an exclusive peek inside the chaos, the gratitude, and the completely unhinged origin story of “Gary.”
“We’re running out of our Garys — our Garys are going extinct,” he tells us with a straight face. “AI is cool and all, but when your septic tank goes, you’re gonna need a guy. Not AI. And that guy is gonna be Gary.”
For Wilson Jr., the SESAC Awards marked more than just a performance. It was the start of a milestone week the former scientist never saw coming.
“I never sang a song in my life for anybody until 10 years ago,” he shares. “I quit my job as a scientist to write songs… with the intention of other people singing them. I never thought I’d be the one.”
Yet here he is: performing twice at the 2025 CMA Awards, fresh off a Jimmy Kimmel Live! debut, and watching his emotionally charged interpretation of “Stand By Me” rack up tens of millions of streams.
When he found out he was nominated for New Artist of the Year, his reaction was peak Stephen — humble, grateful, and hilariously deadpan.
“Oh, I ain’t scared,” he jokes before cracking into a grin. “No, really — I was very humbled and honored by it. That was not an anticipation or expectation.”
On CMA night, Stephen will perform not one but two songs tied to Stephen King — and not even on purpose.
First, he’ll take the stage for his heartfelt version of “Stand By Me,” a song he’s carried since childhood.
“I’ve been haunted by that song since I was a kid because of Stand By Me, the movie,” he says. “It helped me reconcile the death of my father.”
Then, he joins fellow breakout star Shaboozey for “Took a Walk,” their track from the critically acclaimed King adaptation The Long Walk.
The coincidence? It gives him chills.
“There’s a weird kind of God thing happening —’Stand By Me,’ ‘Took a Walk,’ the Stephen King thread… it’s blowing my mind,” he admits. “And by the way, I’m named Steven — with a ph.”
With two sold-out hometown Ryman shows, the newly announced Gary The Torch Tour, and a year full of milestones behind him — from supporting HARDY to making his Madison Square Garden debut to releasing his deluxe søn of dad album — Wilson Jr. is gearing up for a 2026 that feels bigger than anything he imagined.
When asked what he’s taking from opening for HARDY into his own headlining run, he doesn’t hesitate.
“I learned a lot from watching him,” he says. “I never played an arena in my life until this year… I never thought I’d be the arena type. But here we are.”
And as his new single “Gary” ushers in this next chapter, Wilson Jr. is more grounded — and more himself — than ever.
If you ask him what he’d tell his younger self back when he was a scientist debating quitting his job?
“Keep going, dude. Keep going,” he says. “I had a lot of breadcrumbs laid before me from something much bigger than me… all I did was follow the trail.”
And that trail? It’s leading him straight into country music history.
Hosted by Lainey Wilson, the 59th Annual CMA Awards air TONIGHT, November 19th @ 8/7c on ABC, streaming next day on Hulu. You can watch our full interview with Stephen Wilson Jr. from the SESAC Awards below, and don’t forget to let us know what you think of “Gary” by either leaving a reaction at the bottom of the post or by sliding into our DMs on Instagram at @celebsecretscountry.
Interview quotes are edited and condensed for clarity. For more coverage from the 59th Annual CMA Awards, click here.
