Carly Pearce has been dropping a lot of hints about her next album. The Grand Ole Opry member just celebrated a No. 1 single with “What He Didn’t Do,” the final single from her autobiographical 29: Written in Stone, released in 2021.
Pearce is grateful for the success of 29: Written in Stone, but is firm in her decision that it is time to start a new chapter in her music.
“It is time to close the book,” Pearce tells Audacy’s Katie Neal. “I’m very happy; obviously 29 was the most successful album of my career and will probably be forever one of the biggest things that I do… It has really motivated me to continue to just write what I want to write, write how I see the world and make records that sound the way that I want them to, not what I think people want me to do.”
Pearce hasn’t revealed many details about her forthcoming new record. But she does say that, while 29: Written in Stone was written about her heartbreak over her divorce from Michael Ray, fans shouldn’t expect her next project to be all love songs, even though she has been happily dating Riley King for more than two years.
“Obviously, I learned a lot sonically about where I want to continue to push myself into the rootsier side of my music,” Pearce tells her record label. “But I think more importantly, I just learned that fans want to hear what I’m going through, and what my perspective is, and how I see the world in that period of time in my life. And so, I’m thankful that I don’t have to write about a divorce anymore. But this phase of my life, while it is very exciting and fulfilling and fun and upbeat, there are still struggles that come with that, and I think I’m just really excited.”
After her much-publicized romance, and subsequent split, from Ray, the Kentucky native is no longer willing to share all of the details of her life with her fans, except for in her music.
“I feel like in a lot of ways I’ve become a little bit more private with my personal life, to the point that maybe people don’t even know what this music is gonna be like,” Pearce says. “That’s kind of fun for me. I like the mysterious side of that.”
By her own admission, going public with her relationship with King, which she calls “sacred and strong,” was still not easy, especially after the public heartbreak she endured.
“It was hard,” Pearce previously told Everything Nash. “That’s why I waited a year really to really stand on it. I think I learned a lot in the past, and I think I learned some things are meant to be private. I certainly am not flailing him all over social media. We have a lot of our life to be private, and I think that is what makes that relationship strong and sacred. I’m not doing it for the show. I’m doing it because it’s what I want to have in my life. I’ve learned a lot of things as I’ve started a new relationship over the last two years with somebody, and I’m much happier.”
Pearce is very much in love, but vows that her next set of tunes will still have a wide range of emotions and feelings, not just love songs.
“I think a lot of people think that just because I’m happy [and in] a relationship that I’m just going to come out with a bunch of love songs and that’s just not my vibe… it’s not sunshine and rainbows,” Pearce says.
Find music and tour dates at CarlyPearce.com.