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Carly Pearce could barely speak when she won Female Vocalist of the Year at the CMA Awards in 2021. Her “Never Wanted To Be That Girl” duet partner, fellow singer-songwriter Ashley McBryde, stepped up on stage to help translate for the emotional award winner as she collected herself amid tears.
Now, Pearce is looking ahead to the next CMA Awards this month. She’s nominated in five categories (Female Vocalist of the Year, Single of the Year, Song of the Year, Musical Event of the Year and Music Video of the Year), the Country Music Association previously announced. See the full list of nominees here.
Pearce recently opened up about the potential to win again in a statement shared by her record label, saying:
“I mean, I think you have to live in a little bit of like, a real world with these kind of things. If I got into a world where me winning Female Vocalist of the Year was the only way that I could find my success, that would probably be a bad rabbit hole to get into. Would I be lying if I said I didn’t wanna win it again? Of course. I think that over the last few years I’ve had such huge jumps in my career, that I think that moment in particular did make me believe that anything is possible. And so, I think just as I go into this awards season, but also just as I continue to think about what goals in the next 1 to 5 years do I want to see happen, I do believe because of that, I think I can do anything. So, just to even see my name… I’ll be honest, every year you hold your breath. There’s so many great females, especially right now in our business, and just because I’m the Female Vocalist of the Year right now doesn’t mean that I was guaranteed a nomination. So, just to get the nomination was really special, and I have to remind myself of that.”
Four of Pearce’s CMA Award nominations are for “Never Wanted To Be That Girl,” her heartbreak duet with McBryde that serves as a “full-circle moment” for the five-time award nominee.
“In that room that day we went in there, and it just naturally went into us both coming together, writing something authentic, wanting to write a duet together,” Pearce said of the duet. “I think having a song where we wrote it truly for our two voices to have a conversation. Then to see the way that it has connected, the records that it has broken just for a female collaboration, along with Miranda (Lambert) and Elle King. This is coming off of the most personal album I think I’ll ever make, so obviously this song was part of my story. To now see fans sharing stories with me of how this song has made them not feel alone, it just is the most full circle moment. And then to see all those nominations, and for Ashley and I to be two of the most nominated artists of the show is just… You know, all I do is try to write a perspective of how I see the world and what’s happening to me, and to see it continue to get recognized the way that it does is the greatest thing that you could have as an artist.”
Rewatch Pearce's 2021 Female Vocalist of the Year victory here: