Carly Pearce Credits Parents For Unwavering Support

Carly Pearce owes plenty to her parents. The only child of Todd and Jackie Slusser, Pearce's parents did everything they could to help their daughter fulfill her dreams.

"When I moved to town they bought a house in Nashville so that I wouldn't have to get a job immediately and could completely devote to this," shares Pearce. "And my mom has spent countless hours driving around and not being near her family and sacrificing all of that just to make this happen for me, and have been the perfect blend of supporters, but also there for me when I needed to hear that maybe I needed to write better songs or I needed to do this. Or, on the other side just picking me up when I fall. And this is as much me making it, as I feel like them having a part in it, of helping me make it."

The Kentucky native earned a No. 1 hit with her debut single, "Every Little Thing," and scored her first ACM nomination for New Female Vocalist of the Year – successes that meant just as much to her parents as to Pearce, if not more.

"I didn't know they cried so much until now," Pearce says. "All they do is cry when they talk to me. This is all I've ever wanted, but times it by two for them. I'm their only child. They devoted every thing to me being able to chase this dream ... They've never wanted anything else for me."

It was Pearce's parents that saw her early ambition, allowing their daughter to quit school so she could sing in Dollywood when she was only 16.

"I never looked back," Pearce maintains. "I feel like since the time I was nine or ten I was begging my parents to let me chase the dream fully and yes, there were things about being a teenager that maybe I missed out on, but look at what I get to do now and even the experiences I had at Dollywood versus being in school or being in my hometown. I've always wanted to do this and I always knew that it was my destiny."

Pearce will spend the summer on the road with Rascal Flatts on their Back to Us Tour, followed by a run with Luke Bryan on his What Makes You Country Tour. Dates can be found on her website.

Photo Credit: Instagram/carlypearce