Carly Pearce Live in Session for Absolute Radio Country
The country superstar sang her heart out!
We are ALWAYS keen for an audience with the one and only Carly Pearce whenever we have the opportunity here at Absolute Radio Country! As one of the most hard-working singers in country music, it's astonishing how much she's achieved over her years in the industry.
With a very full trophy cabinet full of Country Music Association Awards, Academy of Country Music Awards and one GRAMMY Award, she's even a member of the prestigious Grand Ole Opry - having been inducted back in 2021.
After the release of her fifth album 'Honest Woman' in August 2026, we're thrilled to have had the chance to catch up with her for a stunning performance of her own songs 'If I Don't Leave I'm Gonna Stay', 'You Can Have Him' and 'What He Didn't Do' - plus a jaw-dropping mash-up cover of Fleetwood Mac and Olivia Dean.
She also sat down for an all-encompassing chat with Baylen Leonard - covering everything from her collaborations with Luke Combs and Riley Green all the way through to which country stars have inspired her, and the female artists she's championing.
WATCH: Carly Pearce - 'Dreams' / 'Nice To Each Other' (Fleetwood Mac and Olivia Dean cover medley) (Live in Session for Absolute Radio Country)
Carly reflects on her Grand Ole Opry Live performance at the Royal Albert Hall
Carly was part of the line-up for the Grand Ole Opry Live in 2025 to commemorate 100 years of the beloved and revered venue, considered to be country music's biggest stage. The incredible performance, which took place at the Royal Albert Hall in September 2025, also saw her peers Luke Combs, Darius Rucker, Ashley McBryde and Marty Stuart take to the stage.
Carly told us that she was under no illusions about how admired the Royal Albert Hall is, calling her performance there a "once in a lifetime experience."
She said: "Well, first of all, I know there are very few iconic venues around the world, and I feel like Royal Albert Hall is one of those. And for me, I've always loved the Grand Ole Opry. It was always my dream to get to perform on that stage.
"I think for fans that love country music in the way that the UK does and just their appreciation for the history, it was so special to get to bring this kind of once in a lifetime experience, almost one iconic stage to another for people that maybe will never be able to go to the States and see the Grand Ole Opry show. It was one of my favourite things I've ever done."
When Baylen asked whether it was less nerve-wracking to perform her own show at the venerated building back in May, she affirmed: "It does not feel familiar. It feels scary. But in a good way, in a good way.
"Like in the way that every time I play the Ryman or anytime I step on the Opry, now getting to play my own show at Royal Albert Hall, it's like I understand the significance of getting to play on that stage and the opportunity and the honour that it is. So there's like good butterflies."
Writing 'I Hope You're Happy Now' with Luke Combs
Luke Combs is certainly having a global moment. He's earned his flowers in the world of country, but he's worked hard to bring his music to a wider audience - and it's certainly having an effect!
With many of his fellow country musicians gushing over the hard work he's put in, it's no surprise that he and Carly have already crossed paths earlier in their career. The pair wrote 'I Hope You're Happy Now', which was released in 2019 featuring Lee Brice, and appeared on Carly's second, self-titled album.
After Carly brought Luke out on stage at her Royal Albert Hall performance in May, she explained to us the significance of the moment and how their writing session came about: "I feel like that's a lost part of the story, that it was fun to get to bring it to life in a different way.
"We had never sang it together until that moment. But yeah, we wrote the song together. Years ago when we were on what's called radio tour in the States, this guy had a song out called 'Hurricane'. I thought he was really good. He was sitting like two down from me on all of these radio shows.
"So I just asked him after a show, 'Hey, I really like your voice. Would you ever write a song with me?' And it was Luke. So all these years later, it's fun to get to have such a big song with somebody that you kind of came up with, but also didn't sing the song, but then we get to sing it together because he wrote that melody. It was just, it was awesome."
WATCH: Carly Pearce - 'If I Don't Leave I’m Gonna Stay' (Live in Session for Absolute Radio Country)
Working with Riley Green on 'If I Don't Leave I’m Gonna Stay'
Carly kicked off 2026 by recording a collaboration with Riley Green, with the pair releasing 'If I Don't Leave I’m Gonna Stay' in March 2026. The steamy track had an equally steamy music video featuring the pair, and Carly told us all about being inspired by "iconic" 90s music videos when making it.
She said: "They told a different part of the story that the song wasn't telling. And they would have these big budgets for videos and stuff, so when we did this song, I was like, 'I wonder if he would do this music video with me'."
Riley, of course, agreed to the video, and Carly joked with Baylen that she didn't mind playing these characters with the handsome singer. She said: "Honestly - and he would tell you the same thing - our first scene when you're watching the video, like when our faces are right here singing to each other, it was like, okay, guys!
Joking that she drank a bottle of champagne on filming day to calm her nerves, Carly said: "I know Riley, he's my friend, we're friendly, whatever - but not like that. Oddly, we both said, for about 30 seconds, it was like, this is so awkward. Like, how are we going to ever do this? I think his moustache touched my lip and I was like, 'My God'.
"But after that, it was oddly like totally fine. Like it wasn't awkward. We were fine. I did finish a bottle of champagne at the end of the day, so I guess it got easier for me because I was feeling better. But I think there were only two moments that we literally lost it laughing. But I have to say, I knew I had lightning in a bottle when I was gonna reveal him sitting next to me on the couch!"
Why Carly wanted to chase the more "traditional" country sound
Baylen asked Carly about her more "traditional" country sound, stating that it's really more of a "timeless" sound - something Carly agreed with wholeheartedly: "It's interesting. I feel like because I've been making records for the last 10 years, I feel like on this record, I've pushed it even harder because I do feel like there's this resurgence of traditional country music to be "cool" again, when in reality, it's always been cool to me.
"I just needed permission to be able to record something that sounded so traditional, if you will. It makes me happy that people are really discovering that sound for the first time, like people in their 20s, they really like that song or they really like Cody Johnson or Zach Top or some of these artists that are more traditional."
Carly went on to discuss her country music heroes having inspired and influenced her own music: "It makes me happy because I feel like for me growing up, Loretta Lynn was such a fixture. Emmy Lou Harris, Dolly, Tammy Wynette. And I really wanted that sound of those early first Opry performances back in, you know, the 50s, 60s. I wanted it be captured on this record. It's fun to get to show that side of me."
She added that she's gotten more confident in who she is as an artist with time: "In the beginning, it's like you're trying to prove your place and you don't really know what you're doing. I mean, if I'm honest, I was 27 or 26 when I got a record deal. And I knew who I was, but I also was so overwhelmed by it all and making an album and doing all these things.
"As I've gone along, I think I've just grown up and I've also become more confident and also have had success to where I think I work with people that trust what I want to record. And it was really fun. I've never recorded something that sounded quite that old school. So it was really fun and something that I feel like was right on time for this record."
WATCH: Carly Pearce - 'You Can Have Him' (Live in Session for Absolute Radio Country)
Carly Pearce on the empowering women in country music right now
Of course, we couldn't talk to Carly without mentioning the incredible work that women in country music are doing right now: "I feel like I used to make people mad - like, this is pre-Lainey (Wilson), pre-Ella (Langley), pre-Megan (Moroney), when it was kind of like Kelsea (Ballerini), myself, Maren (Morris), Ashley (McBryde), where there was like this other slew of women who were really mad that women weren't getting played on radio.
"I just felt like if we stopped focusing on men taking over the radio and we focused more on our artistry and writing good songs instead of complaining about it that the tide would turn. And that was a little bit controversial, but I was right."
Getting down to brass tacks, Carly then explored Lainey Wilson, Megan Moroney and Ella Langley: "First of all, let's go through those three women because they are to me the three faces of our format that make me very proud to be here.
"Lainey will go down as one of the biggest superstars. She makes great music. She's a true artist. She has differentiated herself. She's nice as pie. She's the nicest person. She's to me like a Dolly (Parton) or a Reba (McEntire) because she can act, she can host, she can sing, she can dance, she does all of it. She's amazing.
"Then you have Megan, who's like completely on the other side of the spectrum musically, but she to me, I think she sold 450,000 tickets. She's breaking records as like, you know, a headliner at big festivals where the boys have always done it. Go, Megan, go.
"Then you have Ella, who I remember watching her play a couple years ago in a TikTok video, play a tambourine. And I like didn't know anything about her. And I was like, who is that? She's a star. The way she plays tambourine. I made a video about it years ago of like, 'Ella, teach me to play a tambourine', because she had something in her.
"What she is doing is groundbreaking. Take the other two out of it. I mean, she's breaking records that have never been broken in history. I knew the girls would win big. Incredible artists. And I'm proud to champion them. I'm proud to be around them. I'm proud to be friends with some of them. And I just think it's really awesome."
Talking about the future, Carly went on: "I think there's a slew of girls that are going to come up behind them, Carter Faith being one of them, that just wait, next year, we're going to be saying all this about her. I get very excited about the girls because I love that none of them have to say it. They're just doing it."