Carnie Wilson Says Daughter Lola, 18, Can 'Sing Anybody in This Family Under the Table' (Exclusive)
The 'Sounds Delicious' host tells PEOPLE she considers performing alongside her oldest daughter "one of the best feelings in my life that I've ever felt"
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Carnie Wilson and her oldest daughter LolaMusic runs in the family for Carnie Wilson, the daughter of Beach Boys co-founder Brian Wilson and singer Marilyn Wilson-Rutherford. So, of course, the Wilson Phillips singer’s two daughters with her husband, guitarist Rob Bonfiglio, have found their musical calling, too.
Lola, 18, sings, and Luci, 14, plays the cello.
“I'm used to family singing together. That's what we do,” Wilson, 55, tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue. “We're so lucky to have that. Being on stage with my daughters — Lola singing, Luci has come and played — is the greatest joy I can ever think of.”
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While Wilson believes Luci likes playing more than she does performing, Lola has found a home on the stage — sometimes alongside her mom.
“To stand beside Lola and hear that voice, her voice is so beautiful,” Wilson raves. “She can sing anybody in this family under the table. I can't get over it. I get emotional when I'm on stage, so I have to look the other way. I can't look at her because I'll be like, ‘Holy s---. This is my daughter.’ To hear her sing and the audience being moved by her singing [is] one of the best feelings in my life that I've ever felt.”
The Sounds Delicious with Carnie Wilson host hopes to write and record music with Lola and her husband. “That would be a great thing,” Wilson says. “We're starting to write songs together very slowly. Writing songs with Lola is tapping into a creative part of me that I haven't done in many years.”
Wilson has also recently experienced something else she hasn’t in years. After decades of publicly struggling with her weight, Wilson finds herself just under 200 lbs. for the first time in 14 years thanks to giving up gluten and sugar in September, resulting in losing 45 lbs.
The changes “inspired” Lola to hit the gym and opt for gluten-free pasta, according to Wilson. The former Masked Singer contestant wants her kids to make lifestyle choices that make them happy.
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“I try to inspire them to say, ‘It's not for me. It's for you. You will discover that you're not giving anybody else out there the power. You're giving yourself the power that, if you want something, you can go get it,’ ” Wilson says. “I try to tell the kids, ‘Don't compare yourself to other kids. Know that you have something special.’ Everybody has something special about them. Try to find things that make you happy. Try to find something you're passionate about. I think that will give them direction.”
The I'm Still Hungry: Finding Myself Through Thick and Thin author tries to lead by example.
“That's why I'm like, ‘F--- it. I don't care if I'm wearing makeup on Instagram,’ ” Wilson says. “I try so hard to tell them that beauty and love and self-worth comes from what's inside of you and not what's on the exterior. It's OK to love a certain hair color or makeup. That's all fun, but that goes on top of you as an exterior.”
Wilson thinks “it's important to talk to your kids like a friend” and share with them “what you went through.”
“They know that I am a recovering alcoholic,” says the TV personality, who’s 20 years sober. “They know that I was addicted to drugs and alcohol. They know that I have a food addiction. They know that it's hard for me to get motivated to exercise.”
Related: The Members of the Beach Boys: Where Are They Now?
Wilson finds that these honest conversations make a difference.
“It has to start at home. It has to start with this verbal communication with them and really talking on their level, talking to them as a friend, not just as this protective parent,” she says. “I honestly believe that if you have a certain kind of friendship with your kids, that they will communicate to you how they're feeling. I'm proof of that. My kids have done that. I'm so thankful for that.”
Sounds Delicious with Carnie Wilson premieres Tuesday, April 16, a 8:30 p.m. ET on AXS TV.
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