Photo: Getty Images
Carly Pearce shared the video call she had with Ashley McBryde as the singer-songwriters celebrated a major milestone for their smash-hit duet — and the call is incredibly heartwarming.
“Never Wanted To Be That Girl” is one of 15 tracks on Pearce’s fan-favorite album, 29: Written In Stone. The duet sees two women struggling with heartbreak as they realize they’re both in a relationship with the same man. Now that they have a No. 1 song, Pearce called McBryde and gushed on the call that she shared on TikTok, “I’m so happy to have this song with you and it’s just… I don’t know! I’m just so proud to have this song with you.”
McBryde, who marks her first No. 1 song with “Never Wanted To Be That Girl,” replied that she’d never forget writing the song with Pearce and Shane McAnally, and the trust they all had for one another with their ideas. “No. 1s happen often. First times happen one time. My first is with you,” McBryde told Pearce. “I cant imagine it being any better than my first time happening with a sister that I love so much.”
“I’ve always loved your voice. I’ve always loved the way that you sang and how you wrote, and I’m just so proud to have this song with you,” Pearce replied. “I cant believe this is your first No. 1, but congrats on your first No. 1. And I just love you and I cant wait to hug you and get drunk because we deserve it.”
Celebrating the milestone, Pearce — who is no stranger to getting candid about her impactful songwriting — took to Instagram to recall the song’s journey, from writing it to seeing it go No. 1. They “were just in the moment, thinking about the women we want to be and the way that’s not always how life and love turn out. But nobody ever paused long enough to think about having a #1 record or winning an Academy of Country Music Award,” Pearce wrote. “Sometimes out of something bad comes something good. …Ashley, I am so proud to call you my friend, my sister and I will forever be grateful for this song bringing us together. Gonna go cry for the 100th time! ♥️🥲”
McBryde followed suit, sharing: “First times only happen once. I’ll always remember I was in Leeds, England when I got the news. I’ll always love that Carly and I got to ride this rocket of a song together. I’ll always love that she, Shane and I trusted each other and ourselves to be brutally honest when we wrote it. It doesn’t get a whole lot better than that.”
Watch the music video again here: