Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde’s Grammy Win Is About Friendship and ‘Real Country Music’

Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde have always been an unlikely pairing.

On stage, they're at odds as a wholesome Dollywood alumna and a dark horse rocker; in the songwriting room, they're a confessional diarist and a fly-on-the-wall, story song-focused bard. But in their duet, "Never Wanted to Be That Girl," Pearce and McBryde found common ground over their mutual love of heartbreak songs and traditional country music, and the results earned them the first Grammy Award in either of their trophy cases.

At the Sunday night (Feb. 5) show, McBryde and Pearce accepted their trophy onstage together. After the fact, they celebrated backstage, and each shared separate reflections on the milestone on social media.

"WROTE A REAL COUNTRY SONG WITH MY FRIEND AND WE WON OUR FIRST GRAMMY," Pearce writes, alongside a pair of photos showcasing the moment. "I have no words. Zero. None. More later. I love you [Ashley McBryde]."

For her part, McBryde gushed over the milestone, marveling at how the song they'd written together had led to her very first Grammy trophy.

"First times only happen one time, and today marks my first time," she says. "Congratulations Carly girl. We did it."

She followed up that post with with another, this time reflecting on the journey that she and Pearce have been on together since writing "Never Wanted to Be That Girl."

"Remember that time we wrote us a song because we really wanted to sing together?" McBryde writes, "And then it sent us on all kinds of adventures? And then we won a freaking GRAMMY?! GAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!"

Pearce and McBryde's "Never Wanted to Be That Girl" won in the category of Best Country Duo/Group Performance at the 2023 Grammys. The song comes off the tracklist of Pearce's 29: Written in Stone album — it was the second single to be released to radio off the project, ultimately reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart.

See the Top 50 Country Duets of All Time!