Interview with Carly Pearce

Carly Pearce is one of the true break-out country stars of 2017. Her single ‘Every Little Thing’ created a buzz like no other this year and saw Carly become one of the most talked about artists on the scene. Her debut album of the same name was released in October has seen Carly’s stock rise even further. With both the single and the album achieving nominations in our annual awards, it’s clear how highly we rate the singer from Kentucky. We caught up with Carly on Thursday and chatted about her year!

Hi Carly! Let’s Start with ‘Every Little Thing’, a song we’ve nominated as one of our four songs of the year. When you wrote the song, did you ever envisage how high it would fly?
Nooooo, no, not at all! I don’t think you can ever prepare yourself for that.

Every Little Thing was played on the Highway and then ‘The Big Machine’ came knocking almost immediately. How crazy was that?
I don’t know how to explain that process. I had released a lot of songs, I think three songs over the last 3 years to Sirius XM and you know, I had mild success. But when ‘Every Little Thing’ came out it truly, overnight, took on a mind of its own. The Big Machine was there within 24 hours – it was just crazy. And that was only one year ago this month. So it was a just a very crazy time.

You released your debut album ‘Every Little Thing’ in October, an album we’ve also nominated as one of our four albums of the year. There’s a real buzz around songs such as ‘Hide the Wine’, ‘If My Name Was Whiskey’, ‘I Need a Ride Home’ and ‘Dare Ya’. It must be wonderful to have this great collection of songs out there?

Yes! I’ve always, always dreamt of having an album out and just to see the response past just my single has been so awesome and I’m so relieved and grateful that it has been as well received as it has been.

At the age of 16, you left High School and started performing at Dollywood. In hindsight, how important has that move been for your career?
I think it was so huge. It taught me how to perform, taught me what it means to put on a show every day. Also aligning myself with somebody like Dolly, how she has influenced the music industry and learning from the best. That’s an experience I will continue to benefit from for the rest of my career.

Did you have much contact with Dolly Parton at the time?
I met her a few times, as she meets all of the employees and performers in the park. However, I recently got to play the Today show and got to re-meet her which was really special.

And how did you get started as a singer? Was it a case of ‘hairbrush in the mirror’ from a young age?
(laughs) Definitely! I have just genuinely always wanted to sing. As a very young girl I told my parents I was going to sing at the Grand Ole Opry, just always knew that country music was where I was going to pursue my life, was my destiny.

We’re a site based in the UK! Are there any plans to head over the pond?
Definitely! I’m not sure when but I’m hoping for sure in 2018. I very much want to head to the UK!

The following questions were posed by a selection of our social media followers!

What’s one piece of advice you’d give to your younger self and why?
To take my blinders off… For so long I thought there was only one conventional way to follow my passion of country music. I think I would have saved myself a few years of true heartbreak, sadness and depression if I had been open-minded about embracing however it was going to happen.

Who would you like to duet with and why?
That’s hard! I think it would either be Alison Krauss, just because I’m a huge Alison Krauss fan, I think you can hear that influence in ‘Every Little Thing’. Or Trisha Yearwood or Dolly, those females who I loved growing up so much.

What do you like most about going on tour?
Getting to see all different cities, experiencing a different crowd overnight. Just the energy of each different venue – there are so many aspects that I love. I actually love riding on a tour bus!

What are some of the best fan gifts you’ve ever been given?
Oh my, I’ve been given some very interesting things. I was recently given a very large, wooden sea ‘for Carly’ that had photos of everyone and every thing in my life that’s important, my family, my friends, my pets, things about ‘Every Little Thing’ – it was a huge collection. It was special.

What is your biggest goal in 2018?
I feel like people know me as the girl who sings ‘Every Little Thing’, I really want when you say ‘Carly Pearce’ by the end of 2018 for people to know exactly who that is.

To finish, tell us how Carly Pearce will be spending Christmas?
In sweatpants and no make-up hanging out with my pets and my parents!