Carly Pearce’s ‘90s-laced new single gives a heads up to the “Next Girl”

Big Machine RecordsCarly Pearce made her official return today with “Next Girl,” an up-tempo power anthem that walks another woman through how to avoid the same love trap that once got the best of her.

“I bet you probably met him at a bar / Let him walk you to your car / I bet her said he never falls this hard / Yeah, I remember that part,” Carly sings. “He knows how to say all the right things / Knows how to get you out of that dress / Knows how to make you think you’re the best thing / But I know what happens next, girl…”

The song was written in the midst of a whirlwind of change for Carly: Not only was she stuck at home after having to scrap her touring schedule amid the pandemic, but earlier this summer, she filed for divorce from Michael Ray, her husband of eight months.

It was also the first time since the outset of her major-label career that Carly dove into a new musical chapter without her longtime producer, busbee, who died unexpectedly of brain cancer last year.

But Carly found strength in the kind of country music she loved growing up, especially classic empowerment anthems by women. Fortified by the likes of Loretta Lynn, The Chicks and Patty Loveless, she and her co-writer sat down to write a power anthem that would make the female legends of country proud.

“We live in a world where there are so many smooth-talking guys who’re so quick to sweep you off your feet — and they always have a story about the girl before,” Carly explains. “So when we were asking ourselves, ‘What would Patty Loveless do?’ We figured not only would she warn the girl, she’d turn over all the cards…”