Carly Pearce

Pearce moved to Nashville, Tennessee at age 19 to pursue a country music career.[7] She would later describe her early years in Nashville similar to a "roller coaster" ride.[6] She signed a developmental deal with Sony Music Nashville in 2012.[8] The female producer Pearce was collaborating with was fired from the label. With the producer's termination, Pearce lost her deal with Sony. She later said that experience of having an opportunity and then losing it was difficult. In a 2017 interview with Nash Country Daily, Pearce commented, "Of course there were moments that I wanted to quit music. My condo has seen many tears and heard many prayers at night. I’ve always known I wanted to do this, and like I said a little earlier, when you open your brain to still staying in the game and waiting it out and fighting and really understanding that this is a business."[7] After losing the opportunity, she took a series of part-time jobs to help make ends meet. Among these jobs was cleaning Airbnb's.[9]

While working part-time jobs, Pearce began networking with other performers and executives in the country music industry. Around this time, she met Pete Fisher who was the vice president and general manager of the Grand Ole Opry. Fisher was responsible for providing Pearce the opportunity to perform on the Opry in 2015 (which was before she had a recording contract). From their professional relationship, Fisher informed record producer busbee about her musical abilities and interests. In 2015, busbee signed her to a developing artist deal.[10] In 2016, Pearce was featured on the track "Wasn't That Drunk" by the country group Josh Abbott Band. Released as a single that year, it peaked at number 37 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart.[2] Her performance on the song allowed Pearce to gain exposure to country radio stations.[7] She also performed with the Josh Abbott Band on television, including a performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live![8]

In 2016, Pearce was being brought to the attention of multiple Nashville record labels. However, all had declined to officially sign her. Looking back on the experience, she commented in an interview with Forbes, "For me, this was my only option because I could not get a record deal...I had so many meetings. Everybody knew me by name. People told me to move home. I had so many showcases. I knew that I had to show people why I was worthy of it."[11] The same year, busbee produced a track co-written by Pearce entitled "Every Little Thing". Released independently, it was picked up for radio airplay on Sirius XM's The Highway channel, where it received widespread recognition.[10] Following its recognition, Pearce was offered multiple recording contracts. She ultimately chose to sign with Big Machine Records, explaining, "I got to build a career on signing with a record label that viewed me as a partner and not as an artist who didn't know who she was."[11]

"Every Little Thing" was officially released as a single to country radio in February 2017.[7] By November, the song had become a major hit, peaking at number five on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart[12] and number one on the Billboard Country Airplay chart.[13] "Every Little Thing" sold over 500,000 copies in the United States, receiving a gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America.[14] Pearce's debut studio album was released the same year, also named Every Little Thing. The album debuted at number four on the Billboard Top Country Albums list short after its release.[2] It also reached number 32 on the Billboard 200 albums chart.[15] The album received critical acclaim by music writers and critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic gave the release four of five stars calling "polished professionalism", but also contrasting it to the bluegrass musical style of earlier career work. In his concluding statement Erlewine commented, "her showbiz and country roots are inextricably entangled, a singer with a feel for the past but an eye for the present."[16] Jewly Hight of NPR also praised the album, drawing similarities between her vocals and that of artists such as Alison Krauss and Trisha Yearwood.[17]

During this time, Pearce established herself further with further musical projects. This included touring with Luke Bryan, Thomas Rhett and Blake Shelton.[18] Her next single release, "Hide the Wine", was spawned from her 2017 album.[19] It became Pearce's second major hit, reaching number 13 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart in 2018.[20] The same year, she issued a single that was to be the lead release of her upcoming second studio album. Entitled "Closer to You", the song was released in November 2018[11] and reached the top 40 of the Billboard country charts.[21] In October 2019, Pearce released a second single from her unreleased second studio album. The song, "I Hope You're Happy Now", was a duet with country artist Lee Brice. She co-wrote the track with several other singer-songwriters including Luke Combs.[22] The single's success led to her self-titled second studio album to be issued in February 2020. It would be busbee's final production project before his death in 2019.[2] It debuted at number six on the Top Country Albums list[23] and number 73 on the Billboard 200.[24] Jason Scott of American Songwriter gave it three of five stars and called the album an example that "illustrates an artist learning, growing, and embracing the good, the bad, and ugly."[25]

• Way Back Tour (2019) co-headlining with Russell Dickerson [41]

Supporting

• Caliville Tour (2017) supporting Brett Young [42]
• Back To Us Tour (2018) supporting Rascal Flatts with Dan + Shay [43]
• What Makes You Country Tour (2018) supporting Luke Bryan with Sam Hunt and Jon Pardi [44]
• C2C: Country to Country (2019) supporting Lady Antebellum with Hunter Hayes and Dustin Lynch[45]