Singer Carly Pearce joins Audacy host Coop backstage for our continuing coverage of Nashville's 2023 CMA Fest brought to you by Simple Green, to talk about the festival atmosphere, new music on the horizon, and more.
LISTEN NOW: Carly Pearce talks with Coop at CMA Fest 2023
Although Carly Pearce is no stranger to CMA Fest, after moving to Nashville and being involved in some shape or form for the last 12 years, this time around is her first chance to take command of the crowd from the main stage with a full set. "I don't think I'm nervous, I'm just really excited," she says. "I feel like it's literally like my whole life's dream in a way because I used to come to 'Fan Fair' as a kid. and it just is gonna be a really special moment that I hope I really understand what's happening... It's gonna be crazy."
Fans recently found out that Pearce has a big name joining her on her newest single, “We Don’t Fight Anymore” -- Chris Stapleton. "It wasn't what I was going through at the time, but I've always been somebody that really loves sad songs, always," Carly admits. The track, "just felt like something that was really important. Everybody has their highlight reel on social media," she explains. "They don't show you sometimes the backstage of what a relationship can look like. I've always wanted to push the boundaries and be the exception to the rule... singing things that maybe make people feel uncomfortable. But I think that's good because that maybe will tell you if you should be in this relationship or not."
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"When we wrote it, I heard Chris singing on it. I don't know why," Carly says. "I DM'd his wife, Morgan, and asked her if I could send a song for him and it just snowballed. He ended up doing something so special on it that kind of just unlocked the other side to the story. It's literally the most proud I've ever been to put out a song."
Without giving away too much, Carly says Chris' part is not a traditional duet by any means, more of a feature. "What he does -- I don't wanna ruin it -- is still him and he has his moment, but it's in just such a unique way," she says. "I feel like for me to continue to try and evolve with my collaborations, I did it. This one is just unique, and of course it is, because it's Stapleton."
The new single is just the first taste of Carly's next era, following the massive success of her very personal and therapeutic third studio album, 29: Written In Stone. This release, she feels, doesn't quite make a full 180-degree turn from the last, admitting, "obviously I don't have something catastrophic happening to my personal life, thank God. But I think what that album taught me is who I am as an artist, which is unapologetically Country. It also just showed me that people want to hear the way that I see the world, whether that's in my now or in my past. Or whether that's what I long for or what my friends are going through -- just my perspective of things."
"So, I'm just really leaning into that right now."
Don't miss Coop's full chat with Carly Pearce above, and stay tuned for our continuing coverage from CMA Fest 2023 in Nashville.
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