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Carly Pearce shares why she’ll “always cherish” ACM Awards co-host Dolly Parton

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Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for ACM

There’s many reasons for Carly Pearce to be excited about the ACM Awards, but perhaps the biggest one is that her idol, Dolly Parton, is co-hosting. 

As a teenager, Carly and her family moved from their native Kentucky to Pigeon Forge, TN, where she became a performer at Dollywood, an experience that trained the “Every Little Thing” singer for her future success.  

“Dolly Parton has always been a huge inspiration in my life ever since I was a little girl,” Carly tells Hello! magazine. “She has taught me so much over the years from her kindness and the way she treats others, to her incredible songwriting and her ability to speak from the heart in all of her songs. Her impact on myself and country music as a whole is something I’ll always cherish.”

The country legend is co-hosting the 57th annual ceremony with Jimmie Allen and Gabby Barrett, where Carly is nominated for four of the night’s awards: Album of the Year for 29: Written in Stone, Female Artist of the Year, Music Event of the Year and Video of the Year, the latter two for her duet with Ashley McBryde on “Never Wanted to Be That Girl.”  

Carly and Ashley will perform the track when the ACM Awards air live from Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas tonight at 8 p.m. ET on Amazon Prime Video.

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