Carly Pearce is opening up about her recent “season of loss and growth, of healing and happiness,” in her next chapter. The award-winning songstress revealed long-awaited details about her fourth full-length studio album on Friday (March 1), and debuted the stunning title track.
“The last few years have been a season of loss and growth, of healing and happiness. A belief that if I did the inner work, I would rebuild myself stronger than I was before, and a knowing that I have done some living and will always be unapologetic about it,” Pearce — who delivered the debut live performance hours after making her announcement at the 2024 Country Radio Seminar (CRS) in Downtown Nashville, Tennessee — wrote as she posted her announcement on Friday morning. “These 14 songs incapsulate my confidence that there is light on the other side of darkness and my true love of country music.
“When you hear this album — Wherever you are on your journey, I hope it shows you that pain can be a lesson that shows you just how strong you are and what you truly deserve,” she continued. “That we can all find the ‘hummingbird’ in the midst of whatever we’re going through.”
Pearce has been hinting at her highly-anticipated fresh era on her social media channels, including earlier this week, when she posted the quote: “I’ve heard it said that when one sees a hummingbird, challenging times are over and healing can begin… to others, it is an inspiring sign of hope and good luck…” That post came shortly after Pearce shared a photo without a caption, showing a hummingbird tattoo on her arm and stirring guesses from commenters as to whether it was a clue. On Thursday (February 29), she shared a video on Instagram hinting that an announcement would arrive “tomorrow.” Many Instagram users dropped eager comments, including fellow country superstar Kelsea Ballerini, who said she’s “been dreaming about this ever since you showed me 😍”
Pearce’s hummingbird album will follow her massively-successful project, 29: Written In Stone, which released in 2021. That album included “Diamondback,” “What He Didn’t Do,” “Dear Miss Loretta” — a nod to the late Loretta Lynn, who died in October 2022, featuring Country Music Hall of Famer Patty Loveless — “Next Girl,” “29,” “Never Wanted To Be That Girl” with Ashley McBryde (which won the two artists a Grammy Award) and more. Last year, Pearce released 29: Written In Stone Live From Music City, sharing live renditions from a show in Nashville.
Since 29: Written In Stone, which included stories of heartache and healing after divorce, Pearce has shared that she aims to offer life updates in her new music. So far, she’s offered glimpses into her next project by releasing the powerful duet, “We Don’t Fight Anymore,” with Chris Stapleton, in addition to “Heels Over Head” and the autobiographical “Country Music Made Me Do it,” which inspired the title of Pearce’s fall headlining tour. Pearce has also shared snippets of unreleased songs, including one titled “My Place.”
“Obviously, I learned a lot sonically about where I want to continue to push myself into the rootsier side of my music. But I think more importantly, I just learned that fans, they just wanna hear what I’m going through and what my perspective is and how I see the world in that period of time in my life,” Pearce previously said, per her record label. “And so, I’m thankful that I don’t have to write about a divorce anymore. But this phase of my life, while it is very exciting and fulfilling and fun and upbeat, there are still struggles that come with that, and I think I’m just really excited. I feel like in a lot of ways I’ve become a little bit more private with my personal life, to the point that maybe people don’t even know what this music is gonna be like, and that’s kind of fun for me. I like the mysterious side of that.”
Pearce’s new album, hummingbird, is set to make its debut on June 14. Listen to the title track here: