Paved with Persistence: The Road to Country Music Stardom with CMA Female Vocalist of the Year Carly Pearce
By Annie Reuter
Carly Pearce’s story is one of persistence. Thanks in no small part to that persistence, Pearce made her way to the CMA Awards stage this past November to accept the award in CMA’s Female Vocalist of the Year category. While her stunned expression and loss for words signaled her surprise, her place at the podium was marked by a resilience many years in the making.
The 2022 Kentucky Music Hall of Fame inductee has established her rightful place at the Country Music table, but her journey was far from easy. Despite many closed doors along the way, Pearce’s desire to be a Country singer remained steadfast.
Pearce’s earliest memories involve listening to Country Music at her grandparents’ home. The Taylor Mill, KY, native fondly remembers hearing Patty Loveless, Shania Twain, and Faith Hill and says Wynonna was her first concert at age 8.
“I don’t remember not wanting to sing Country Music, not wanting to be a singer,” says the reigning CMA Female Vocalist of the Year.
Pearce, who began singing at a young age, credits fourth-grade music teacher Les Woodard as the first person outside of her family who recognized her talent. He’d often give her solos to sing in the Christmas program or leads in school plays.
“He really nurtured those opportunities for me and constantly was giving me confidence,” Pearce recalls. “He didn’t treat me like I was a fourth- or fifth-grader. He knew that I was serious, and he really continued to believe that I could do it.”
Pearce quit the cheerleading squad in middle school to front a Bluegrass band. She performed anywhere she could: tent revivals, fairs, and even a boys’ prison. At 16, a Dollywood audition sealed her fate. While her dad stayed behind for work, Pearce and her mom moved from Kentucky to East Tennessee to help further her dream when she got the role.
The youngest performer at Dollywood by six years, Pearce performed six shows a day, five days a week. She learned very quickly about working with other people and understanding that the show must go on — even if you feel sick or tired.
The other Dollywood performers served as mentors for the young singer, and Pearce says they all encouraged her to chase her dream to Nashville. In 2009, when she felt she had learned all she could at Dollywood, Pearce packed up her things and headed to Music City. She now describes the move as a culture shock.
“I met so many singers every single day and it was intimidating,” Pearce says of relocating to Nashville at 18. “I started going to every single writers’ round that I could and tried to meet as many people as I could.”
Pearce credits her parents’ sacrifices and belief as the reason she didn’t give up on music when things got tough. She had difficult meetings where labels passed on signing her; at one, she was told she was dated and should have been an artist in the ’90s. At another, she was advised to move back to Kentucky because she was never going to break through.
Yet she persevered. She stayed true to her commitment to growing professionally and artistically, honing relationships and perfecting her craft.
Early support from industry veterans such as ASCAP’s Mike Sistad and LeAnn Phelan (who now owns LP Creative Management) and BMG’s Daniel Lee kept Pearce planted in Nashville. She says Phelan’s support group for new artists helped her build confidence and form new friendships within the industry. Kelsea Ballerini and Hailey Whitters were part of the support group, and the introduction led Ballerini to invite Pearce on tour before she had a record deal.
“Daniel Lee, he was my first publisher at BMG,” Pearce says. “He introduced me to [producer-songwriter] busbee. The whole town had turned their back on me, and he helped me in those early days gain my confidence back.”
Pearce also praises Sistad for his “unwavering faith” and says he’s the only person that has been on her team since day one. “He used to take me as his date to awards shows and he would say, ‘I believe with my whole heart you are next. You’re my one artist that I need to get off the ground.’ It’s nice to have those people in your corner, that in those moments where everybody is telling me, ‘No,’ [I] can go to them.”
In 2016, Pearce’s career took a turn. SiriusXM Senior Director of Music Programming J.R. Schumann wanted to introduce “Every Little Thing” as a “Highway Find.” Pearce, then independent, was hesitant because the song was what she was told radio wouldn’t embrace — a heartbreak ballad by a new female artist. “Females just were not happening at all at that time,” she says. “I kind of felt like it was career suicide.”
Her team advised Pearce to take the opportunity because it was too big to pass on, so she did. The song’s success soon changed her life. She went on to garner a record deal with Big Machine Records in January 2017 and by November, “Every Little Thing” reached No. 1. In 2020, Pearce was presented certifications for her single “Hide the Wine” and her Lee Brice duet, “I Hope You’re Happy Now,” certified Gold and Platinum, respectively. She has since released three albums — Every Little Thing, Carly Pearce and 29: Written in Stone — and amassed countless awards, including 2020’s CMA Musical Event of the Year for “I Hope You’re Happy Now,” 2021’s CMA Female Vocalist of the Year and 2018’s CMT Breakthrough Video of the Year for “Every Little Thing.”
In 2021, Pearce accomplished another career milestone when she was invited to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry by Dolly Parton and was inducted by Trisha Yearwood. The singer is now collaborating with artists she has long admired — including Loveless, on “Dear Miss Loretta” from 29: Written in Stone — and Loretta Lynn and Barbara Mandrell have welcomed her into the Opry family with open arms. Pearce’s new goal is to sustain all those dreams that have come true.
“I’ve wanted a seat at this Country Music table my whole life and now I have one, and I just want to keep my seat,” the Opry member says. “I want to keep elevating and setting a higher bar and standard for myself as an artist and as a woman in this industry in the way that all of my heroes have.
“What I’m being given right now is [a result of] 32 years of blood, sweat and tears, and it is never going to be something that I get used to or I get comfortable with. It is something I will continue to strive to be better at and it only inspires me.”