Carly Pearce is embarking on a bold new musical chapter, with Honest Woman. The record, her fifth, will be out on August 28. Honest Woman, her first on BBR Music Group/BMG Nashville, includes her current “If I Don’t Leave I’m Gonna Stay” duet with Riley Green, plus “Dream Come True,” “Church Girl,” and more.

“I’ve been working on it for almost two years,” Pearce tells Everything Nash. “And for me, I got to a place where I needed to find the little girl again that really wanted to sing country music in the first place. The high highs and the low lows of success can be lonely and hard. And what this album has done for me is, it really allowed me to return and find her again.”

Honest Woman celebrates Pearce’s deep love of bluegrass music. The record features Dan Tyminski on “Who’s Lying Here,” plus Tyminski and Molly Tuttle on “What If You Loved Me.” With a nod to the record’s title, Pearce also fully embraces being in her mid-30s.

“I think as a female in this business, or in any kind of entertainment field, or maybe just in general, you can be told to hide your age or your life experience, or you’re too much, or all these different things,” the Kentucky native acknowledges. “And I think for me, I just really wanted to show people more of me, more of my vulnerability, more of the things that matter to me. And also say, you know what? I’m 36, and I’m proud of it, and I’m gonna say it. And the only things that I’ve learned have come from life experience that comes with age. So I think age is an asset.”

Carly Pearce’s “If I Don’t Leave I’m Gonna Stay” Duet With Riley Green

 

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Pearce and Green’s “If I Don’t Leave I’m Gonna Stay” duet is already a hit single at radio. The success of the song is likely not just because of their stunning vocals, but also their steamy video. Awkward filming at first, it didn’t take long for both Pearce and Green to lean into their respective roles.

“I think we’ve both said separately and together that we wanted to die in the first 30 minutes, because it was so awkward,” the Grand Ole Opry member admits. “But somewhere in there we both went for it. And then I’m like throwing my leg up on him. I mean, it’s acting. And that’s the thing: as artists, you want to push the boundaries, and you wanna tell stories. For me, I loved music videos in the ’90s. And I think there’s a lost art to the artists living out the songs in the music videos.

“And so, it was my idea, ’cause why wouldn’t I wanna do that?” she adds. “And I knew if he would go there with me, it would be something that we haven’t seen in a long time.”

Carly Pearce Finds Her Voice on ‘Honest Woman’

In her previous records, Pearce remained largely authentic to who she is as a singer and a songwriter. But on Honest Woman, the project is filled with the music she has always wanted to make, finding confidence in all the tracks on the record.

“By no means am I on any given day not struggling with this thing or this thing,” Pearce maintains. “But I think I just really know who I am. And that feels really good. I think I feel happy. And I mean this so kindly, but I have things to live for outside of this. I haven’t in the past, and that’s really nice. It makes me a better artist to have a life separate from Carly Pearce.”

‘Honest Woman’ Track List

1. “Dream Come True”
2. “Church Girl”
3. “She Don’t”
4. “You Can Have Him”
5. “How Long”
6. “WWJD”
7. “Same Circus”
8. “Happy For Myself”
9. “If I Don’t Leave I’m Gonna Stay” Carly Pearce & Riley Green
10. “I Don’t Have The Heart”
11. “He Don’t Like My Dogs”
12. “Leave My Heart Alone”
13. “Who’s Lying Here” Carly Pearce & Dan Tyminski
14. “Daisy”
15. “What If You Loved Me” Carly Pearce, Molly Tuttle & Dan Tyminski
16. “Why God Why Me”

Photo Credit: Dove Shore

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