Pearce, McBryde team up on new song

"Never Wanted To Be That Girl" is the just-released new single from Pearce's "29: Written in Stone" album out on Friday, an expanded version of her seven-song February EP "19." The new disc contains 15 songs.

Written by Pearce, McBryde and co-producer Shane McAnally, "Never Wanted to Be That Girl" is sung from the perspective of two women – the single girl thanking the guy who helped change her flat tire and the wife at home – discovering the man they're involved with has someone else. The shattering truth in a text – for McBryde – and the reality of where he's been when he gets home – for Pearce – finds the two women reeling as they consider their own blind spots.

"Nobody ever thinks it will happen to them," Pearce said. "You never see it coming, but there's always an explanation. You know, who'd ever want to think that way about someone they love. Why would you? And so, that's where this song started: the things you don't see, because you'd never look."

"Ashley is such a great drop-into-the-moment writer, she was able to bring that reality bomb truth to what we were doing," said Pearce. "She's fearless, and she understands human nature in a way that let us both really write to the hurt of realizing we've been lied to by someone we're intimate with."

"Carly isn't afraid to face the less potable subjects," McBryde said. "As a writer, she's willing to get in there and get very honest. Writing this song together with Shane strengthened our friendship and taught us more about one another and ourselves. Seriously, nobody wants to be the other woman. And when you find you are...damn. It's such a gut punch."

The third track from "29: Written in Stone" was a joint release from Big Machine Records and Warner Music Nashville, McBryde's label.