Carly Pearce Remembers Night Out In Nashville With Kelsea Ballerini

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Carly Pearce knows that if she’s hanging out with Kelsea Ballerini, she might be acting like a 21-year-old again. She credited her fellow singer-songwriter as being a “bad influence” when they’re together.

Pearce, now 32, caught up with Entertainment Tonight ahead of the 56th annual CMA Awards, talking with the entertainment news hub the bond she shares with Ballerini, 29. The two country artists teamed up with one another on “You’re Drunk, Go Home,” a “sassbomb” song with superstar Kelly Clarkson, included on Ballerini’s latest album, Subject To Change. Pearce — who called Ballerini “my best girlfriend in this town” — added to ET that she and Ballerini “got drunk and sang on [Nashville’s Lower] Broadway, yes, we did, and it was horrendous. I saw videos after and I was like, one of us is not, two of us are not like Kelly Clarkson.”

Ballerini, Pearce and Clarkson are set to team up at the CMA Awards, performing the powerful, high-energy anthem.

Ballerini deemed the song a “sassbomb yeehaw collab moment” as she teased it before releasing Subject To Change in September. The “HEARTFIRST” singer acknowledged that many eagle-eyed fans managed to guess that Pearce joined her on the Subject To Change track, based on a photo that blocked Pearce’s grace from view. However, “I did fool you because it is not just Carly Pearce,” Ballerini said at the time, flashing a big grin. “We have a trio. …It’s Kelly freakin’ Clarkson.”

The CMA Awards will be broadcast live from Bridgestone Arena in Downtown Nashville, Tennessee. It’s set for Wednesday, November 9 from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET. Listen to “You’re Drunk, Go Home” again here: