Carly Pearce’s – Carly Pearce says her song “Church Girl” was “a bit scary” to her inner circle because it pairs religion with sex, drugs, drinking, same sex, and Jesus in the same conversation. As she prepares her fifth studio album “Honest Woman,” Pearce frames the album as
Carly Pearce didn’t shy away from the moment her team hesitated.
In an interview with Fox News Digital, the 36-year-old country singer looked back on the risks she took during her career—and singled out one track that made even people close to her feel uneasy. For Pearce, it was “Church Girl,” a song she said was “a bit scary” for everyone when it landed.
“I think the song that probably was a bit scary for everybody was ‘Church Girl,’” Pearce said. “Any time you talk about religion or … sex, drugs, drinking, same sex and Jesus all in the same sentence, that’s a lot.”
She understands why some listeners and insiders might flinch. Still. Pearce said she believed it mattered to put her position on the record—especially when it comes to the things she considers important. She told the outlet she “thought it was important” to put her “flag in the ground on things that are important” to her. adding that it “makes me proud.”.
That willingness to stir discomfort has become part of how she moves online as well. Pearce said she likes to “ruffle” people’s feathers, particularly through the way her song lyrics land.
Career milestones sit in the background—she has won a Grammy Award, three CMA Awards and four ACM Awards, and she has released four studio albums. But Pearce keeps insisting that her next chapter is the one where she bared the most.
Her upcoming fifth studio album, “Honest Woman,” is set to arrive after she co-produced it with longtime collaborator Ben West. Pearce called the album her most vulnerable work yet. explaining that writing it forced her to be “even more honest and vulnerable and real than I ever have been.” She described it as “so personal. ” and said it “feels like a return to form.”.
The process, she said, started with a song that surprised her. “‘Dream Come True’ was the first song that I wrote for the album,” Pearce said. “And I remember when I wrote that song. I did not even realize that I needed to write that song.” She added that she was in a place where she “really needed that song. ” and that writing it “opened up my eyes” to what had to happen next. In her words, she “needed to go on a quest and find myself again.”.
She also tied “Honest Woman” to the emotional neighborhood of her earlier work. When she compared the album with her third studio album, “29,” Pearce called them “cousins” and “friends,” and said, “You can’t have one without the other.”
As she looks toward what comes after the release, Pearce isn’t positioning “Honest Woman” as just another record cycle. She’s shaping it into live moments built around closeness and narrative. The singer will launch a series of shows branded the Honest Women: Up Close series. featuring two-night residencies in cities throughout North America.
“It also feels like the best season of my life. And it felt right,” she said. Pearce described what audiences actually come for: “people come to my shows for the storytelling and the singing. They don’t come for the show.” That’s why she says she wanted to honor an album built around “storytelling and singing.”.
The Honest Women: Up Close shows begin Sept. 10 in Detroit. They will then travel to Chicago, Minneapolis, Los Angeles, Toronto and Boston, before concluding in New York City on Oct. 22.
The album itself also brings in other voices. Pearce said “Honest Woman” includes collaborations from Dan Tyminski, Molly Tuttle and Riley Green. On working with Green, she gave a clear reason for choosing him.
“He is such a great storyteller and artist that I really wanted to be a part of that,” Pearce said. She described being inspired by Green’s ability to move people at scale. telling the story of him captivating a sold-out arena with just “he and his guitar” singing a song about his grandpa. “That is so awesome that real music can move people like that. ” she said. and added that in her view. “he was the only person for this song because it needed that type of artistry that we can sit in a stadium on stools and sing the song and people love it.”.
“Honest Woman” is set to release on Aug. 28. Pearce called Green “a great storyteller.”
Carly Pearce Honest Woman Church Girl Ben West Riley Green Dan Tyminski Molly Tuttle country music album release Honest Women: Up Close tour dates