The video for Carly Pearce‘s “What He Didn’t Do” is out! The song, written by Pearce along with Ashley Gorley and Emily Shackleton, is the last release from her 2021 29: Written in Stone record.

The video shows Pearce along a beach, slowly getting more immersed as the story of the song unfolds. It goes along with what Pearce conveys in the song, which she wrote while dealing with the end of her brief marriage to Michael Ray.

“This song is all about setting your standards high, and remembering that you deserve the best,” Pearce tells CMT. “We spend so much time in relationships going, ‘ Well, they didn’t do this, and they didn’t do this, and they didn’t do this.’ But at the end of the day, you need to remember your worth.”

The opening line of “What He Didn’t Do” is very autobiographical to Pearce, beginning with wise words her mother has actually given her in real life.

“I really wanted to stay above the noise,” Pearce says. “I started the song out by saying, ‘Mama always says if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.’ That has rang so true in my life. I think I’ve just really leaned on my mom. You hear her a lot through the album as I reference her, just because she’s been such a key part of my healing. We always need our moms when we go through heartbreak.”

Pearce knew as soon as the three writers finished “What He Didn’t Do” that the song was special, but she could never have predicted the impact it would have.

“I think about where I was when I wrote that song, and I just knew that I had written something that was gonna mean something, but I really had no idea just how much it would mean to people,” admits the singer.

Unaware indeed. Pearce performed it at a small, intimate writer’s round in Nashville, mere days after finishing it, unaware of how much fans would latch on to the song.

“It’s crazy,” Pearce reflects. “Even before it was a single, it was streaming like a single. It was out-streaming some of my other songs that were singles. You write a lot of songs, and you then put them on your album, and you hope that they’re gonna be able to have the life of getting to make it to the radio, and I’m so happy that this one did.”

While Pearce is now happily dating Riley King, she says the message of “What He Didn’t Do” still rings true.

“I think the best revenge is that you’re better off without them,” Pearce maintains. “And then they hear your song, and they know that it’s about them, and you’re doing great. It’s like, ‘Hello, I’m your little nightmare.'”

Pearce is nominated for five CMA Awards, including Female Vocalist of the Year and Song of the Year, for her “Never Wanted to Be That Girl” collaboration with  Ashley McBryde.

Luke Bryan and Peyton Manning will serve as hosts of the 2022 CMA Awards. The 2022 CMA Awards will air live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday, November 9, at 8:00 PM ET on ABC.

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