Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde find themselves on opposite ends of the same cheater’s game in “Never Wanted to Be That Girl.” And for the new music video, they meet in the middle.
Led by first-time director Alexa Campbell, the emotional clip features two women caught in the orbit of the same man. One is his wife, the other his unwitting mistress, but they slowly begin to realize something is wrong. Devastated and heartbroken, each one acts out the lyrics of the song, capturing the turmoil being used and how they’re beginning to wonder what kind of person they are. But all throughout, neither blames the other woman, adding a compassionate tone to the classic cheating ballad. And when they end up at the same red light, late on a tear-filled night, it may symbolize the moment they put a stop to the situation.
“What’s interesting about this song is we could have gone to a place of blame on the others in the love triangle, but we turned it inward,” Pearce says. “It’s unique that two women who never meet are getting burned by the same man and having the exact same feelings. We intentionally kept the chorus the same to reflect that neither wanted to be in this position.”
“So many of us know how it is when you go back and start putting all of those pieces together,” McBryde adds. “That moment when you realize the gut punch of the situation. This song isn’t really about being the other woman or even being messed around on as much as it’s about these two people who are exhibiting behaviors they normally wouldn’t – checking text messages, making excuses for why their dates are only on Tuesdays – and realizing it’s all because of the same person.”
Interestingly, Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde will find themselves pitted against each other for real next week, as they are both nominated for Female Vocalist of the Year at the the 55th Annual CMA Awards. Airing November 10 at 8/7c on ABC, the pair will also get to perform “Never Wanted To Be That Girl.”