Gretchen Wilson Insists Grammy Competition Is Friendly

Gretchen Wilson is going head to head against another feisty country female, Miranda Lambert, in two categories at this weekend's Grammy Awards: Best Country Song and Best Country Female Vocal Performance, both for Gretchen's 'I'd Love to Be Your Last' and Miranda's 'The House That Built Me.' The Redneck Woman says she fully expects to be clapping for Miranda when the winner is announced in at least one of those categories, and that's perfectly fine by her. She says contrary to what a lot of people may think, there's no cattiness or competition between the two -- she and Miranda are actually friends, and she's a big fan of the Texas songbird's music, cheering on her success wholeheartedly.

"I'm definitely going to the ceremony," Gretchen tells The Boot. "I'm gonna take advantage of my three seconds of face time while I'm congratulating Miranda! Because I'm a TV ho like that. [laughs] Miranda is something else. I love her, and I've gotten to play shows out on the road with her a few times. What's funny is she and I come from the same record label [Sony Music Nashville]. She has a good relationship with them; me, not so much."

"What's really funny about our relationship, though, is there's a lot of people who would love for us to not like each other, but it's never gonna happen. We've always liked each other, and we are cut from the same cloth really. She's a tell-it-like-it-is woman ... she's like me. I don't care if it's good news or bad news, just give me the news, I can take it, no matter what it is. That's the way you've gotta go through life if you're gonna get somewhere."

Gretchen admits she's also a huge fan of 'The House That Built Me,' and she wouldn't be upset to lose to it. "The song I'm up against in this particular category is probably the best song I've ever heard her sing, so it wouldn't surprise me at all to lose to her, and I probably will. But I'm just really proud for her and the success she's had. She's tremendously talented, and she deserves everything she's got."

Though she may not take home any Grammy gold, Gretchen says she'll definitely have a ball checking out all the other stars at the genre-packed event where rappers, country and pop stars and rockers all mingle together. She recalls one particularly memorable year when she witnessed Mariah Carey swarmed by an army of stylists as she prepared to take the stage.

"I'm excited to see all of the artists there," says Gretchen. "The last time I was at the Grammys I got to see Mariah open the show that year, and just being in the audience and watching the entourage of people who were primping and fluffing and getting her ready before the show was something. I'm not kidding, it was like an army of people fluffing up skirts, and spraying hair, and that was just amazing to see! I'll never look at her the same now because instantly she just became a regular woman who needed to be fluffed and primped and sprayed."

The Grammy Awards air live from Los Angeles on Sunday night, February 13, beginning at 8:00 PM ET on CBS. Read our preview of the show here.

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