Ashley McBryde is the newest member of the Grand Ole Opry! The singer was inducted on Saturday, December 10, by Terri Clark. Clark also joined McBryde for her performance of “Girl Goin’ Nowhere,” which McBryde wrote while one day dreaming about performing at the Grand Ole Opry.

“This is my 22nd Opry performance,” McBryde shared from the stage. “And when you say it like that, it sounds so fast. I wrote this song with a guy I had never met before we wrote it, in hopes that one day I would stand here and sing it.”

Clark reminisced on the first time she heard “Girl Goin’ Nowhere,” which sparked not only mutual musical respect, but a close friendship as well.

“Ashley, the first time I saw you sing ‘Girl Goin’ Nowhere’ was on this stage,” Clark recounted. “And right after you were finished, there was a standing ovation. You knelt down and you kissed that circle that you’re standing in. And right then, I think we all knew you belonged here. We’ve been friends for several years now — five, I think — and I have witnessed such a reverence and respect for the Opry, the music and the artists that came before you. And you are a perfect fit to be here and be inducted tonight.

“To me, the Opry is about family. It is a family,” she continued. “As my sister, you have earned your place at the table, more than anybody that I know. I know that I, along with all of your fans and all of your peers and your mom and your dad and your family — everybody that’s here tonight, have been patiently waiting to hear the words, ‘Congratulations, Ashley McBryde. You are officially a member of the Grand Ole Opry.'”

McBryde reflected on her feelings of becoming a Grand Ole Opry member, in an emotional speech expressing her gratitude for becoming part of the Opry family.

“Did you ever have moments where you’re speaking to someone, at a dinner conversation or anywhere, and you have this moment of, ‘How is this real life right now?'” McBryde said. “That’s how it is to say that Terri Clark is one of my dearest friends. I went to my dressing room to finish touch-ups, after I had already begun crying, and Wynonna walked into my dressing room. I said, ‘I can’t believe you’re here,’ and she said, ‘I had to be here. I had to support you.’ … I said, ‘Why do we do this to ourselves? We just stand here and cry.’ And she said, ‘Because what we do is important.’ And that is very true. It is important what we do. And this moment is the biggest of my life.”

The Arkansas native concluded her speech by vowing to remain true to what the Grand Ole Opry stands for, and all that it represents.

“Thank you,” she said. “I know what this means. I know what my responsibilities are. I take them seriously. And God bless country music.”

Eric Church also surprised the crowd by performing “Bible and a .44” with McBryde. She closed out her performance by singing “Sparrow”

McBryde was invited to join the Grand Ole Opry by Garth Brooks in October, when he surprised her by appearing virtually from the Grand Ole Opry stage, while she was on CBS Mornings. But even long before she was invited to become a member, McBryde said the Grand Ole Opry stage was her favorite place to perform.

“The Opry is one of the most important things to me in my whole career,” McBryde told Everything Nash last year. “I’ve never come into the building without saying hello to Minnie Pearl. I’ve never left the building without saying, ‘Goodnight, Minnie.’ I’ve never stepped right into the circle. I always put a toe in first. And then I always either point down to it or reach down and touch it when I leave. It’s such a sacred thing to me.”

McBryde’s Grand Ole Opry induction begins at the 27:00 minute mark in the video below.

Read ’10 Country Artists Who Should Be Grand Ole Opry Members’ here.