Back in 1925, George D. Hay started a country music radio show called WSM Barn Dance. A few years later, that program changed its name to the Grand Ole Opry. And after a century, the Opry remains one of the most illustrious institutions in country music. Celebrating its centennial this year, the show headed across the pond for a night at London’s Royal Albert Hall. And one of the night’s biggest highlights came when Carly Pearce welcomed Luke Combs onstage to perform their first live duet of a song they wrote together.
Carly Pearce and Luke Combs Have Never Performed This Song Together
Taking the stage in a flowy white dress, Carly Pearce instructed the audience to welcome “my good friend Luke Combs.” Sporting a red cap, the Grammy nominee joined Pearce in performing the heartbreak ballad they wrote with Randy Montana and Jonathan Singleton.
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How “I Hope You’re Happy” Happened
Back in 2019, Carly Pearce opened up about the songwriting process for “I Hope You’re Happy” with Luke Combs.
[RELATED: Carly Pearce Shares Struggles With Chronic Heart Condition and Message of Hope]
“So I was in the room with Luke Combs and Jonathan, and we just started talking about—I word-vomited, honestly, about something that I had just been through,” she told The Boot. “Luke and I were buddies, so he kind of knew, because we had played some shows together.”
She continued, “I knew that I wanted to write a duet, and I just started to tell my side of something that I think so many of us go through, which is that sometimes you get complacent in a relationship, or you get comfortable, and you’re not really in love with this person. You’re just in love with the idea of being comfortable, and with someone. Honestly, that’s where I was.”
Next, Combs suggested playing the role of the guy. “We kind of landed on this [idea] of “I hope you’re happy now,” and the spin on it, of whichever side you’re on, and how you take that differently,” Pearce said. “Honestly, in the way that all my best songs have happened, it kind of fell out of my mouth.”
Pearce ended up recording “I Hope You’re Happy” with Lee Brice for her self-titled sophomore studio album.
Featured image courtesy of Luke Combs via Instagram
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