Country stars Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde’s collaboration “Never Wanted To Be That Girl” has made history as the second female duet to top the charts in 30 years.
Videos by American Songwriter
The emotional ballad talks about cheating from two women’s perspectives – one finding out that the man she’s been seeing is with someone else through a painfully sobering text and the other discovering the reality of where her husband has been while away from home.
The subject matter has clearly connected with audiences around the country as the track rises to No. 1 on Country Radio across both Billboard and Mediabase/Country Aircheck.
Pearce said of the duet, “So many people have been where this song takes you … it’s so real and feels so raw. Having Ashley’s emotive voice tell this story with me really drives the message so you feel it no matter which side you may have been on.”
“Writing this song strengthened all our friendships and taught us more about one another and ourselves,” McBryde added. “Nobody wants to be the other one.”
The accompanying video saw the pair team up with first-time director Alexa Campbell to film scenes of their parallel lives, each with the wrong guy. Watch the video below.
Pearce and McBryde are only the third female duet to top the country charts since Reba McEntire and Linda Davis’ 1993 track “Does He Love You” following Miranda Lambert and Elle King’s “Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home)” breaking the 29-year record just last month.
“When we were writing, we were just in the moment, thinking about the women we want to be and the way that’s not always how life and love turn out,” Pearce said of the milestone. “But nobody ever paused long enough to think about having a No. 1 record or winning an ACM Award for spilling our secrets and learning from honest mistakes. But now, here we are, and it feels really great.”
“We’ve heard so many stories from men and women—all ages—who’ve been in this position, realized what was happening and got the heck out,” said McBryde. “That’s a big part of why this probably went to No.1: so many people, unfortunately, know this feeling all too well.”
The pair performed the candid track at this year’s Academy of Country Music Awards. Watch their full performance below.
Photo Alexa Campbell / Big Machine
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