Carly Pearce once watched the CMA Awards on TV, dreaming of someday winning one herself. The reigning CMA Female Vocalist of the Year will return on Wednesday, November 9, to try to claim another win in the category, along with four other categories she is nominated in. For all of her successes, especially within the last year, Pearce never, ever imagined she would receive a nod in every category in which she was eligible.
“I didn’t know what time they were coming out,” Pearce recalls to Everything Nash. “So I was pulling into a workout class and my assistant goes, ‘Carly, did you see them?’ And I was like, ‘Did I see what?’ And she was like, ‘You got all five.’ And it was almost better that way for me instead of just sitting by the phone waiting. I made her send me the photos of all five, because I didn’t believe it.”
Pearce’s other nods are for Song of the Year, Single of the Year, Musical Event of the Year and Music Video of the Year, all for her “Never Wanted To Be That Girl” collaboration with Ashley McBryde. It’s a hearty stamp of approval for Pearce, who poured her heart and soul out into the heartbreaking ballad.
“I said to somebody that I work with, that all I want is one,” Pearce shares. “And to get all five that I was up for, I don’t know how to explain that at every single step of this, I still am like, ‘Please let it happen.’ So just to see it and to see ‘Never Wanted to Be That Girl,’ a song, again, that I wrote from real-life experience — and it was my idea to have Ashley come and write a song with me — just to know again, that my instinct was right on, that is really awesome.
“You want people to care about what you write, and this is a big validation for me amongst all the other ways that ‘Never Wanted to Be That Girl’ has been validated this year,” she adds.
“Never Wanted To Be That Girl” is from Pearce’s 29: Written in Stone record. “What He Didn’t Do,” her current single, and final release from the project, is out now, while the 32-year-old works on a new album.
“I just don’t think I can be 29 and divorced forever,” Pearce tells Everything Nash. “I’m really excited about it. I write from where I am in my life. So I think that you’re gonna see this new season of life for me, and more confidence in the kind of country music that I make, and really just waving my flag in that.”
Pearce hasn’t shared many details of her next set of tunes, but she does hint her relationship status, with longtime boyfriend Riley King, will echo throughout the project.
“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 teases. “So I think it’s gonna be just, you’ll know exactly where I’m at in my life.”
Pearce headlines two back-to-back shows, on October 26 and 27, at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. She will serve as the opening act on Blake Shelton‘s Back to the Honky Tonk Tour in 2023.
Luke Bryan and Peyton Manning will host the 2022 CMA Awards. The show will air live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday, November 9, at 8:00 PM ET on ABC.
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