Laine Hardy recently shared a video of him and a young fan named Lilly singing his song, “Ground I Grew Up On,” together on Zoom. The singer shared that he was looking forward to meeting the little girl ever since he saw a video on social media of her singing along to the song.
Hardy, who is of Korean descent, was also excited to connect with the young girl, who is also Asian American, so he could show her representation in country music. In the video, Hardy and Lilly can be seen singing the song, after which Hardy says, “You sound good! You sound amazing.”
“This is my friend Lilly,” Hardy wrote alongside the clip. “About a year ago, when ‘Ground I Grew Up On’ came out, Lilly’s mom posted a video of her singing along. We got in touch so I could hang out with Lilly on Zoom. This moment was so important to me for so many reasons. Ever since I was on American Idol, I hear from folks that they are excited to see someone with Asian heritage in country music. I’m so grateful that I get to represent our heritage in country music and show kids like Lilly that they can do whatever they want. There’s a lot of hate in this world, but it’s important to remember that love and kindness conquer all.”
Hardy appeared on the country music scene in 2019 after winning season 17 of American Idol. The singer released “Ground I Grew Up On,” along with another song, “Let There Be Country,” in April 2020. He has since released two additional songs, “Tiny Town” and “Other LA.”