Carly Pearce Recalls Being a Backup Singer for Lucy Hale, Who's Now Starring in Her Music Video (Exclusive)

Country singer Carly Pearce and "Pretty Little Liars" star Lucy Hale are reuniting for a special full-circle moment. Exclusive coverage from ET takes us behind the scenes of Pearce's music video shoot for "We Don't Fight Anymore," where Hale stars as the leading lady. Interestingly, their friendship began a decade ago when Pearce served as Hale's backup singer.

Pearce reminisces about their initial encounter at the Grand Ole Opry and the impact it had on her musical journey. "I met Lucy on the set of her music video at the Grand Ole Opry, which is so insane. It was the first time I'd ever stepped on the stage," Pearce told ET. "It freaked me out because I never wanted to stand on the stage until I was playing myself. Now I'm a member, which is wild. I remember just being really excited to be there because I was working a lot of odd jobs and was really sad and needed to fall back in love with music. She helped me do that."

Their early days together were filled with excitement and fun, and Pearce attributes much of her positive experience to Hale. "I was in my early 20s and just thought I had totally made it," she remembered. "It really did make me fall back in love with music, having somebody that was around my age that I could just go have fun with and be on a stage and get to be a part of a band that I love. We really had a wonderful time."

Pearce also highlighted Hale's warm and friendly nature, saying, "She didn't even have to speak to me back then, and she built a friendship with me very early on. She treats everybody like they're her friend, and I think if she can do it, everybody should."

Now, Pearce and Hale share a deep and enduring friendship. Pearce spoke of their strong bond, saying, "We've developed a really strong friendship, and she's been such a champion of mine and my music." She also shared how she convinced her friend to star in her music video, saying, "I just asked her if she wanted to be in the video and have the biggest full-circle moment ever, and she so graciously said yes."

In addition to Hale, the video also features actor Shiloh Fernandez, which Pearce expressed excitement about. "He looks like he stepped out of Yellowstone, so I'll take that," she quipped. "He's killing it."

As for the song itself, Pearce collaborated with the renowned Chris Stapleton. She expressed her happiness about reaching out to Morgane Stapleton, Chris's wife, to connect with him. "I am so happy that I DM'd Morgane Stapleton so that she could get this song to Chris. I always joke and say, 'You got to go to the wife go, to the one that really makes the decisions,'" she quipped.

Pearce considers her collaboration with Chris Stapleton a pinnacle in her career, saying, "I've had a lot of amazing collaborations. Chris Stapleton, to me, feels like the peak, so I may just hang up my hat after this one on collaborations."

The success of the song resonates deeply with Pearce, who is delighted to see people connecting with her music. She shared, "All I've ever wanted to do was make music that people connected to and that they loved and that mattered. I think just to see what this song is already doing has felt so much like people understand who I am, they get the artist that I want to be, they care what I have to say."

Pearce believes that the message of the song comes to life in the music video. She emphasized, "I feel like this story really needed to be told exactly how it was written, which is just that you can be in a relationship and co-exist, but I think the worst place that you can be in is when you are in a place of indifference. The story visually comes to life in a way of just showing how distant you can get when you're right next to each other."

Reflecting on her journey from being Hale's backup singer, Pearce expressed gratitude for the doors it opened in her career. "It makes me emotional just to think about everything that has happened in my life since being a backup singer," she said. "So many people told me that my career would be over if I went and did that. I'm so glad that I did, because I feel like she opened so many doors for me of people just being aware of me before I had any kind of artistry going or anything."

"So now to see everything that's happened, we've continued to be in each other's lives, she's championed me every single step of the way and vice versa," Pearce added. "To get to come together and work together in these two roles it just is really, really special and probably the most special video I'll ever do."