What it's like to drop out of high school to become a country music star

Before she was country singer Carly Pearce, she was Carly Cristyne Slusser, a native of Taylor Mill, Kentucky looking to make a name of herself in the music industry.

The artist behind “Every Little Thing” credits her grandparents playing country music at home every day for her early desire to become a country singer. After fronting a Bluegrass band for a couple of years, she saw an audition to sing in the country show at Dolly Parton’s theme park, Dollywood, in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

At 16, Slusser made her first major decision as Carly Pearce.

“I convinced my parents to let me quit high school and start home schooling so that I could take a job working in the country show there,” Pearce told Yahoo Finance in a sit-down interview.

Three years later, Pearce moved to Nashville where she quickly met studio and record label executives, leading her to her first development and publishing deal with Sony. And just as quickly as she was signed, she was kicked out of the exclusive club: Her A&R (Artists and Repertoire) agent was fired by Sony.

“That was one of the most dark periods of my life,” said Pearce. “It allowed me to take eight years in Nashville and figure out really what it means to run a business. I, for a long time, was my own tour manager.”

Country singers already face a tall task in the new digital world of music. While a 11.5% of albums that were sold in the first half of 2017 were country albums, only 5.6% of all streams were country music during the same time.

Pearce, however, broke through the crowd. The singer signed with Big Machine Label Group Records in 2015 and released the hit single “Every Little Thing” in 2017. It would go on to peak at #5 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs and win Breakthrough Video of the Year in 2018 at the CMT Awards.

“I think as I've gotten older I think it was a blessing that I didn't get a record deal until my late 20s because I think it allowed me to really grow up as Carly not as Carly Pearce,” said the 28-year old. “When you are starting a career you have to have confidence. Even if you fake it til you make it and you're dying inside because we've all been there, I know I have. You have to go in there and be sure of yourself and know that you belong.”

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