Carly Pearce definitely turned lemons into lemonade with her 2021 album, 29: Written in Stone. The record, which includes the No. 1, Grammy-nominated “Never Wanted To Be That Girl” duet with Ashley McBryde, was written as she coped with the end of her brief marriage to Michael Ray. While the season was painful, the album also produced “Next Girl” and “What He Didn’t Do,” which seems likely to be Pearce’s next chart-topping hit.
The commercial success from such a deeply personal project was a lesson to Pearce about being truthful in her music, even when the truth hurts.
“As a writer, I wish I could go through a divorce every time I make a new album, because it makes you feel so inspired,” Pearce tells Grammy.com. “But I think what I learned through making that record is, people wanna hear how I see the world. They wanna hear what I’m going through. From [age] 29 to 32, almost 33, there’s been a lot of life that I’ve intentionally kept more private. [Now], people say to me, ‘Oh my gosh, you’re so happy, but we’re not gonna get those Carly Pearce heartbreak songs.'”
The Kentucky native, who said her next record will show her falling in love with her current beau, Riley King, vows to still have those emotionally-charged songs, even though she is currently happily in love.
“Honestly, yes, you can be happy and struggle to get there,” Pearce reflects. “I think there are songs that are reflective, there are songs that are nostalgic, there are songs that are in love and happy. But you don’t realize how much you’ve been affected until you try to love somebody else. I don’t think that’s a topic that’s really talked about, but it’s something that I think a lot of people go through, and I kind of share my take on that.”
Pearce has already teased “Trust Issues” from her next set of tunes, an early indication of what Pearce will share on her new album.
I felt very overwhelmed when I first started writing — just what this direction was,” Pearce says. “And I wrote in my phone, ‘trust issues.’ That’s kind of on the theme of, you never know how hurt you are until you try to love somebody else. But I wanted to spin it into a hopeful and happy thing, because I love titles where you look at them and you think it’s gonna be one thing, but it’s a totally different thing.”
Pearce wrote “Trust Issues” with Nicolle Galyon and Jordan Reynolds, writing a song that she describes as “so helpful.”
“It’s a love song, but it’s a love song out of pain,” Pearce says. “And I remember when we wrote it — I see my albums in pictures, and I thought this was such an important facet to this transitional period of my life —of moving on.”
Pearce hints on social media that she will make a big announcement about new music this week. She will join Blake Shelton on his Back To The Honky Tonk Tour, kicking off next month. Find music and tour dates at CarlyPearce.com.
