Ashley McBryde Calls Carly Pearce Collaboration a 'Wonderful Thing For Our Friendship' at 2023 Grammys
Ashley McBryde and Carly Pearce are celebrating after their win for best country/duo group performance at the Grammy Awards on Sunday.
McBryde, 39, and Pearce, 32, won for their No. 1 hit song "Never Wanted to Be That Girl," off Pearce's 29: Written in Stone album, a track McBryde says was a "wonderful thing for our friendship."
"Never Wanted to Be That Girl" is told from two female perspectives as they each grapple with experiencing infidelity in the same relationship.
The duo's "willingness to be honest with each other in the room that day" was helpful, McBryde told PEOPLE's Janine Rubenstein and Jeremy Parsons on the Grammys red carpet.
"I was like, 'This is a little soon, and this is a little close to home for you, and if we're being honest, it's a little close to home for me," McBryde said.
"And she [Pearce] said 'I think we should do it,'" McBryde continued, adding that she's a "long-time, huge fan" of Pearce.
Kevork Djansezian/Getty Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde
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Pearce, who was married to country singer Michael Ray for less than a year before divorcing, told Parsons and Rubenstein that both she and McBryde had "been there, and been on each side of that story," when it came to really digging in and committing to the song.
"She's my country sister. We've really found just a genuine love for each other," Pearce said of McBryde.
"When we wrote this song, we really bonded over a real-life story," Pearce continued.
"We're an odd pairing that maybe nobody ever thought would sing together — and I liked that shock factor as well," Pearce told PEOPLE previously.
As for the outpouring of support from fans who rallied behind the song, McBryde was surprised by one particular reaction.
Getty Ashley McBryde
"One of the things I didn't expect to get initially [from fans] was, 'Thank you for not necessarily calling each other bad words,'" she says.
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McBryde is also up for best country album for Ashley McBryde Presents: Lindeville.
The 2023 Grammy Awards are airing live on CBS and Paramount+ Sunday night from the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
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