Carly Pearce on Finding Joy Again, Friendship With Kelsea Ballerini, and Her New Album Honest Woman

# Where Pearce's perspective changed

After about ten years in the country-music business, Carly Pearce says her approach to music and relationships has shifted. She told interviewer Anthony Mason on Alchemy that she's become more aware of what matters to her. That change shows up in two main ways: how she experiences shows and how she protects her friendships.

Pearce credits the making of her fifth studio album, Honest Woman, with helping her reconnect to why she started making music. She calls it "my favorite music I've ever made" and says, "I found the joy again. I found the fulfillment again." She links that renewed energy to being more present onstage and more intentional offstage.

# The friendship with Kelsea Ballerini

Pearce and Kelsea Ballerini met when Ballerini was 19 and Pearce was 23. Pearce admits she felt jealous at first when she saw Ballerini had a record deal and Pearce did not: "I didn't like her at first because she had a record deal and I didn't." That feeling changed as they spent time together and realized they could rely on one another.

Pearce describes a friendship based on mutual understanding: "We've been through a lot together. I know I can go to her and she's going to understand and vice versa, and we have that dialogue." She says their shared experience in the small circle of people who understand the business has kept them close. Their closeness also led to a musical collaboration: Pearce and Ballerini teamed up with Kelly Clarkson on the song "You're Drunk, Go Home."

Pearce emphasizes how rare real friends are in the industry: "In my experience, it has been hard for me to find real friends and hers as well. And truthfully, what I have with her, I don't need anyone else. It's really special." She and Ballerini are comfortable 'oversharing' over a glass of wine and create memories together—Pearce even chose to sip rather than spill when asked about their wildest moments during a game on Entertainment Tonight.

# How this shows up in Pearce's career choices

Pearce is measuring success differently. She acknowledges that not every show sells out and that she doesn't always land awards or chart-topping singles, but she is focused on what she can control. "I work my butt off to make sure that I make myself continue to do this and raise the bar and do the things that I can control," she says. That work ethic is paired with a clearer sense of priorities: being present during performances and actively caring for relationships outside of music.

The result, she says, is better shows and richer relationships. Her renewed approach is informed by a practical realism about the unpredictability of the business—"there's no rhyme or reason to any of it"—and by a firm decision to keep improving her craft.

# The immediate takeaway

Pearce's recent interviews frame Honest Woman as both a creative reset and a personal recalibration. She describes the album as the work that restored her passion and says she's now having more fun onstage than at previous career highs. Her long-term friendship with Kelsea Ballerini is presented as a steady source of support that helped her through the transition.