Exclusive: Carly Pearce Says Her Success Has Already ‘Surpassed Her Wildest Dreams’

Carly Pearce scored a No. 1 hit with the release of her debut single, “Every Little Thing,” which was the title track of her freshman album. The song’s rapid ascent quickly made her one of the reigning hitmakers in country music – a fact she is still having difficulty accepting.

“People ask me how I feel and honestly, I’m still trying to come to terms with it and feel like it’s actually happening,” Pearce admits to PopCulture.com. “It’s surpassed my wildest dreams. If you would’ve told me sitting here a year ago that this would be what’s happened to me, I would’ve never, ever believed it.”

“Every Little Thing” was written about the painful end to a relationship that Pearce experienced firsthand. The Kentucky native knew kicking off her career with a sad song was a risk, but it was one she was willing to take.

“I wrote that song about a break up that I went through and as a female artist, as a new female, to come out in the summer with a heartbreak ballad, seems like a kiss of death. I was nervous. I never really thought that it would take off and then honestly, as soon as it came out, it took on a life of its own. It has reminded me that people want to hear real music and they want to hear real stories, and they want genuine, authentic music. And I think when people heard that, they knew it was the truth from me.”

Pearce followed up “Every Little Thing” with “Hide the Wine,” a sassy song paying homage to her drink of choice.

“We picked ‘Hide The Wine’ as my second single and made that music video, all wanting it to be a complete 180 degrees from ‘Every Little Thing.’ I wanted that video to be more performance based. I feel like I acted so much in ‘Every Little Thing.’ I wanted people to see my fun, flirty, not so serious side. And my band all makes a cameo in it. We just had a lot of fun out in the woods when it was 25 degrees. It was cold. Just think about that the next time you watch it and see what I’m wearing.”

Asked what her next single might be, the 27-year-old says she isn’t sure, but she knows what song she hopes is released next.

“I would love to see ‘If My Name Was Whiskey’ be a single. So, that’s what I’m pulling for. But honestly, I love so many of the song on my album,” she says. “I feel like ‘Hide The Wine’ was undeniably going to be the second single. Past that, I have a collection of songs that I’m really proud of that it’s going to be hard to choose. But ‘If My Name Was Whiskey,’ I’d be thrilled about that.

Pearce’s success has earned her a spot on four of the biggest tours of the year, opening for Luke Bryan, Blake Shelton, Thomas Rhett and Rascal Flatts in 2018. When asked how it makes her feel, Pearce sits silent for a second, trying to articulate how important her acceptance into country music means to her.

“So many of my girlfriends, as young girls in high school, they talked about starting families and getting married and I think that’s beautiful. But for me, I dreamt of CMAs and ACMs, and the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, being a country music artist. I really feel like that was my destiny as a young child,” Pearce reflects. “I’ve been embraced by other artists, by country music fans, by radio, for being a hundred percent me. At the end of the day, if tomorrow it all blew up and went away, I made an album. I got a record deal. I had my first number one. I came onto the scene being one hundred percent who I am and the artist that I always wanted to be.”

A list of all of Pearce’s upcoming concerts is available on her website. Download Every Little Thing on iTunes.

Photo Credit: Instagram/CarlyPearce