Carly Pearce can’t wait for country music fans to hear her debut album Every Little Thing.
The 27-year-old Kentucky native has waited a lifetime to share the 13-song collection, out Oct. 13. Country music was all Pearce ever wanted to do.
“There are videos of me, when I was four or five, saying I was going to move to Nashville and sing at the Opry,” said Pearce, who moved to Nashville at 19 and made her Opry debut in 2015.
“So it’s in my DNA.”
Hours before her first-ever performance in Toronto, the singer told iHeartRadio.ca it’s “really, really exciting” to know the album is coming out.
Pearce said the title track, which was released as a single back in February, reflects just one mood on the record.
“So many people see me as the heartbreak ballad girl and I think they’re going to be pleasantly surprised to hear a lot of up-tempo, a lot of fun, sassy… all different songs that really show the influences of the late-90s and early-2000s women that I love so much,” she explained.
“I’m really proud of it.”
That list of female artists includes a certain Canadian, of course. “Oh yes. I love Shania so much,” Pearce said. “She’s a huge influence.”
Songwriters like Hillary Lindsey, Emily Shackelton, Allison Veltz and busbee (who also produced) crafted the songs on Every Little Thing — but Pearce had a hand in writing eight of them.
She said although “best song won” when it came to putting together the album, she believes “the majority of it has to come from the artist.”
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Pearce has been busy playing live shows ahead of the release and has gigs scheduled through mid-December across the U.S.
She insisted she’s ready for the gruelling schedule of a country star. Time alone, she said, is key.
“I’m an introvert at heart so I think centering myself, trying to go on a run every once in awhile, and just trying not to talk as much if I can,” said Pearce. “I just try to pace myself.”
Pearce remembered the first time she heard “Every Little Thing” on the radio — she was in Orlando and heard herself introducing the track. “I was like, ‘Is that me?’ And I turned it up and it was on and I freaked out.
“I’ll never forget it.”