Carly Pearce is the definition of dedication and persistence. Fronting a bluegrass band at the young age of eleven and moving to Tennessee by the age of sixteen, Pearce has a bold drive that has helped her get where she is today. Working at the iconic Dollywood theme park and Country Tonite, she learned the ups, downs, and curveballs of the music business. Eager to dive into a career as a solo artist, she moved to Nashville and began taking meetings and after years of working extremely hard, playing shows, and developing her craft, she is now signed to Big Machine Records and is already making waves in the country music scene. With her new single, ‘Every Little Thing,’ Pearce is dominating every little part of the country music scene right now and is truly unstoppable.
‘Every Little Thing’ is Pearce’s first single of 2017, released in anticipation of her debut album. With over 60,000 digital downloads and one million streams to date, ‘Every Little Thing’ has been nothing short of a huge success for Pearce. The single was also named a SiriusXM ‘Highway Find’ by SiriusXM’s JR Schumann. A honest and vulnerable perspective into her story, ‘Every Little Thing’ was written as therapy for herself, Pearce thinking, “no one would really ever hear it. It’s about a guy who broke my heart almost 5 years ago” she said. “I wanted to tell my personal story of the snapshots of dealing with his ghost and understanding that it’s ultimately our hearts who decide when it’s time to let someone go.” The song explains every little detail of remembering someone once they leave and will most definitely guaranteed to leave an arm full of goosebumps.
Pearce released a music video for ‘Every Little Thing’ in March, taking a unique approach to the music video process. Pearce explained that she watches a lot of music videos and she just “really wanted to do something different” that would stand out. “We decided to cut the song live, in the studio and keep the video simple. This song is so bare, vulnerable and about the lyric — I wanted it to reflect that.” Pearce’s best friends are actually in the video playing instruments and singing harmonies making the setting more intimate and personal. Pearce definitely accomplished making a beautiful, real, and unconventional video and she says she is “really proud of how it turned out.”
Now on her first-ever radio tour, Pearce is traveling the country stopping at different radio stations along the way. “It has been so awesome! I am so thankful for this opportunity to travel the country introducing myself and my music to country radio” Pearce explained. She also explained that she has two of her best friends on the radio tour with her which makes the experience even sweeter for her. Most of all, she is excited for her fans to start to getting to know her better and to start getting to know her fans better: “I am most looking forward to just saying ‘hello’ and letting country fans see what I’m all about. I have truly dreamt of this my whole life.” The hard-working energizer queen that she is, is also working on her debut album at the same time. When asked what her advice to younger artists would be she said, “Work harder than anyone and never have a plan B.” As a girl who has lived by hard work and no plan B, take it from Pearce that these are the keys to success.
With her debut album coming in 2017, Pearce explained, “I want people to read my story or hear about my story and realize that no matter where you come from or what dream lies in your heart, you can do it with determination and hard work.” Pearce wants country fans to get to know her and to let them into her life and the stories she tells in this new music. “I hope that my album reflects vulnerability, a true example of country music and touches each area of my life in the most authentic way I can express. I am so proud of the material and really do feel you’re going to get to know ‘every little thing’ about me & why I love this genre so much.”
Growing up listening to artists like Trisha Yearwood, Alison Krauss, Faith Hill, and Sonya Isaacs, Pearce has always “loved the females of the late 90s/early 2000s who sang ‘modern country’ and had true character and texture to their voices.” These artists are who she grounded her inspiration on and her debut album will let these influences shine in her own unique way. Now signed to Big Machine, Pearce explained that she’s always dreamt of the kind of “creative freedom” she holds now with her debut album to allow her to show people who she is with nothing holding her back. “I think with the success of the Josh Abbott Band single and the exposure I’ve had over the last few years, it’ll be good to really dig deep and say ‘I know you know a little about me, but here is an inside look into my world.’”
Speaking of Josh Abbott, Pearce celebrated her first Top 40 hit with a Josh Abbott Band collaboration on ‘Wasn’t That Drunk.’ “I am so thankful to the Josh Abbott Band for asking me to be a part of ‘Wasn’t that Drunk’. It’s kind of a ‘once in a lifetime’ opportunity to be able to do something like that on a national level having been unknown and unsigned,” Pearce said. “I feel like that experience helped to equip me for this phase in my career, stepping out on my own on the national level.” Pearce is extremely grateful for the whirlwind of an experience that the Josh Abbott Band provided for her and found that it really helped shape her solo career later on.
Along her journey, Pearce met and began collaborating with hit producer busbee (Florida Georgia Line’s ‘H.O.L.Y.,’ Maren Morris’ ‘My Church’). “Most people don’t know that Busbee actually signed me to a production deal almost two years ago. He has been with me in the trenches of really defining my sound and carving out my lane, so this has been so fun for us.” Busbee really helped Pearce find her sound and pave a unique career path for herself. Not only did he provide career advice, but he became a true friend and role model for Pearce. “He’s not only amazingly talented, but such a dear friend to me. I couldn’t do this without him!”
Pearce has joined tours with renowned country artists such as Kelsea Ballerini, Hunter Hayes, Kip Moore, and many more. She has also received huge accolades on social media by artists such as Cam and Kelsea Ballerini. “It’s hard to put into words how thankful I am to have such strong women who I admire spreading the word about my music” she said. “I think the world of what they’ve all brought to our genre, so the fact that they think what I’m doing is slightly cool is really awesome.”
Don’t miss Pearce when she steps on stage to join the Country 102.5 Street Party in Boston! She will be debuting new music and of course killing it per usual. “Fans can expect to hear a lot of the new music I’ve been working so hard on in the studio for my debut record!” Pearce is so clearly grateful for everyone that has helped her along the way and that has helped her get where she is now. A very “smiley, thankful, happy girl,” Pearce is dominating the country music scene with no means of stopping, and is one of the most humble and authentic artists right now.
Get ‘Every Little Thing’ on iTunes, Amazon, Apple Music, and Spotify.
Make sure you follow Carly on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and her official website.
Main photo credit: John Shearer.