Carly Pearce returns to her roots with infectious new single “Next Girl,” her first new music since finalizing her divorce to Michael Ray earlier this week.
The country superstar debuted the new track on Friday (Sept. 4), following four CMA nominations earlier in the week, including ‘New Artist Of The Year,’ and ‘Song Of The Year,’ ‘Music Video Of The Year’ and ‘Musical Event Of The Year’ for her chart-topping single “I Hope You’re Happy Now” featuring Lee Brice.
In the sassy new song, Pearce warns the next girl of the red flags that she learned first hand in a relationship that’s gone sour while also telling to keep away from the ladies’ man singing “I know what happens next, girl.”
“I’m just the one he says went crazy on him, That’s just what he does But once upon a time I was, The next girl, I’ve been where you’re at, You overlook a lot when he looks like that, He’ll charm your mama with that smile, Hide the red flags for a little while,” sings Pearce.
The song can be compared to Britney Spears’ GRAMMY-nominated single “Womanizer,” telling the same story lyrically with a clever-wording that explains that the girl in the relationship already knows just what the guy is while explaining or warning others that come into his life in the future. With a make-you-move, steel guitar/banjo driven instrumental and the unforgettable chorus that gets stuck in your head for weeks, it is without a doubt that this song will quickly become Pearce’s next career-defining single.
Pearce brings influence to the track from ’80s and ’90s icons that she looks up to including Patty Loveless, Reba McEntire, Pam Tillis and The Chicks. Bringing that influence to tell the powerful story of a females perspective of a relationship that has gone south.
“That was the thing about Patty Loveless and so many of these women: They were so strong, and so real,” the singer told American Songwriter. “They stuck up for themselves, earned their own money, fell in love, got hurt, but they were always their own women. They dug down deep, but they still had fun. They held their own and they held the line, but it was never mean-spirited or hard.”
“Next Girl” is an up-tempo track co-written by Pearce alongside Shane McAnally and Josh Osborne.
Additionally, The singer says she hopes this song comes to inspire other women to keep an eye out for each other.
“So, this is my way of being the big sister, or the sassy girlfriend to all the other girls out there in the dating jungle. Maybe if we all looked out for each other, we’d end up with a little less heartbreak and a lot more laughter.”
“Next Girl” is destined to top the charts and quickly become the new fan-favorite track in his discography.
The new single marks the follow-up to “I Hope You’re Happy Now,” and is the first new music since the release of her sophomore Self-Titled album, which released in February. If this is a taste of what is to come from this new Pearce-era then we couldn’t be more excited.
