Carly PeaceandAshley McBrydeare celebrating “Never Wanted to Be That Girl!”
Pearce and McBryde revealed their win on the red carpet during the ACM pre-show. Pearce, 31, credited McBryde, 38, for her songwriting skills on the single, saying ahead of the show, “Ashley knows how to bring real emotion to a song like this.”
She added, “Songs about cheating aren’t something you hear much anymore, but I don’t think it’s because it doesn’t happen. When Ashley and I sat down to write, we wanted to dig into something so classically country and really play to our roots. This is what happened, and people have been responding in such a way that it makes me believe thereisa place in the world for real country.”
Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde.Ben Trivett
McBryde also praised her songwriting partner, adding, “Not everyone is brave enough to go straight into the raw parts in the writing room. When we were trying to decide what to write about, Carly’s like me: someone who wants to jump into the deep end.”
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“So we took ‘being the other woman,’ something that’s typically a little taboo, and turned it into a reflective moment, where two women are forced to face being someone they never intended,” she continued. “And, it doesn’t hurt that it’s a lot of fun to sing, too.”
Check out PEOPLE’s full ACM Awards coverage to get the latest news on one of country music’s biggest nights.
Pearce and McBryde are both set to hit the award show stage. Meanwhile, Pearce is nominated for female artist of the year, album of the year and video of the year.
McBryde is also nominated for female artist of the year and video of the year.
Pearce released her latest full-length album,29, in September, and at the time, she spoke to PEOPLE aboutthe meaning behind it. The record originally started as an EP.
Carly Pearce.Rebecca Sapp/Getty
“I have accepted what has happened to me in my life, and I’m moving on,” Pearce said. “What you hear in this project is every stage of a relationship ending, the realization, the grief, the anger, the confusion … I’m very much a situational writer, and as soon as I could see all of these songs, I saw the pieces that they represented, and I felt like it was finished.”
“My Mamaw and Papaw Pearce, I always told them that if I ever made it here, they would be front row,” Pearce said in the acceptance speech she was finally able to muster. “And they didn’t get to see that happen, but I really do genuinely feel like they’re here with me tonight, and I know that this was as much my dream as it was theirs.”
For McBryde, her latest release was in April 2020 for her albumNever Will.
Ashley McBryde.Terry Wyatt/Getty
In 2019, the singer opened up to PEOPLE about her brother’s unexpected death.
“You keep your feet moving or you will completely fall apart,” McBryde told PEOPLE. “As women, we don’t allow ourselves the falling apart time nearly enough. Luckily my body and my psyche has decided to choose those moments for me now.”
source: people.com
