Carly Pearce is channeling two of her biggest role models — Dolly Parton and Reba McEntire, as she heads into 2023. The 32-year-old is ready to make new music in the new year, guided by watching how the two superstars have carved out their own lengthy careers in country music.
“Obviously, at the top of my list is creating great music,” Pearce told BMLG of her goals for the new year. “I saw how much that changed everything for me. At the end of the day, what we do is put out music, and that’s what kind of continues on our trajectory of what happens next. So, I think making this next record as good or better as 29 is super important to me. But I think past just the music stuff, I want to be the women that I love, the Dollys, the Rebas. They’re household names.
“So, I want to figure out what is my version of that,” she adds. “You know, is that doing something outside of music? Is that just expanding and kind of stretching? I know I can do music, but what else can I do within that umbrella of just challenging myself?”
Pearce challenged herself by hosting not once but twice this year. The Kentucky native hosted both the ACM Honors ceremony, as well as the recent CMA Country Christmas televised program.
“Hosting is really important to me,” Pearce told Everything Nash earlier this year. “As my career has kind of grown in the last couple of years, it’s been something that I’ve really raised my hand to the people above to let them know that that’s something that I’m passionate about.”
Pearce is already hard at work on her new album, which she says will be much more positive and focused on love than 29: Written in Stone, which was about her divorce from Michael Ray. Now happily in love with Riley King, Pearce says those feelings will be evident in her next set of tunes.
“I think you’ll see the beauty of falling in love again, but also the hardships that come with trusting somebody again, and that push and pull of what that looks like,” Pearce hinted to Everything Nash. “So I think it’s gonna be just, you’ll know exactly where I’m at in my life.”
Pearce will join Blake Shelton on his Back to the Honky Tonk Tour in early 2023. Find music and tour dates at CarlyPearce.com.