Carly Pearce has had an incredible year. The Kentucky-born singer-songwriter made history alongside Ashley McBryde when they became the first female pairing to win a GRAMMY for Best Country Duo/Group Performance for their song "Never Wanted to Be That Girl," she released 29: Written in Stone (Live from Music City) and released some of the best country songs of 2023 with "Country Music Made Me Do It" and Chris Stapleton collaboration "We Don't Fight Anymore."
On Sunday, she'll close out a banner year by performing at Nashville's Big Bash, a star-studded New Year's Eve special also featuring performances by Lainey Wilson, Blake Shelton, Trace Adkins, Grace Bowers, Kane Brown, Jackson Dean, Hardy, Cody Johnson, Parker McCollum, Megan Moroney, Jon Pardi, Brothers Osborne, Trombone Shorty and co-host Elle King.
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"It's always a good time to be able to celebrate a new year in Nashville and this has been a big one for me!" Pearce tells Wide Open Country.
A high point of Pearce's 2023 was releasing the haunting "We Don't Fight Anymore," which she co-wrote with Shane McAnally and Pete Good and recorded with Stapleton, which she called a "dream come true."
When asked what surprised her most about the response to the song, which she performed alongside Stapleton at the 2023 CMA Awards, Pearce explained that she always knew the song was special, but the addition of Stapleton's vocals added another element to the brutally honest track.
"I think the biggest surprise has been just how special Chris Stapleton made this song by making the bridge his own and giving the song a completely new twist," Pearce says.
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Looking ahead to 2024, Pearce says she doesn't have a New Year's resolution, but she continues to build upon what she's learned from the previous year.
"I think the only thing I continue to do every year is [ask] what can I do better and how can I continue to raise the bar?" she says.
Of course, that includes continuing to release music that connects her to her fans — and Pearce promises there's more on the way in 2024.
"I'm most looking forward to releasing more new music," she says. "I am the most proud of the music that I have been making and I am so excited to enter a new chapter with my fans."
"Nashville's Big Bash" will air live on CBS on Sun., Dec. 31 from 7:30 - 10 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. - 1:05 a.m. ET. It'll stream live on Paramount+ for Paramount + with Showtime subscribers, and it'll be available on demand the following day for those subscribers as well as those with Paramount+ Essential accounts.
READ MORE: Elle King, 'Head of the Party Parade,' Previews 'New Year's Eve Live: Nashville's Big Bash' [Interview]
