Jordan Davis’ Duet With Carly Pearce Needs to Be His Next Single
“Mess With Missing You” is made for country radio.
Carly Pearce, Jordan Davis; Photo by Caleb Cockrell
Jordan Davis’ new album, Learn The Hard Way, arrived on August 15, and while all 17 tracks shine in their own way, one of the clear standouts is “Mess With Missing You,” his duet with longtime friend Carly Pearce.
There’s just something special about a male/female country duet, and Davis and Pearce keep that tradition alive with this heartbreaking track. The song finds the pair fighting the urge to slip back into the pain of missing an ex, even though the temptation is strong.
Throughout the verses, they reveal how they’ve adjusted their lives to cope, avoiding things like listening to Keith Whitley when storm clouds roll in or drinking wine after midnight in an empty bed. The chorus compares the pull of an old flame to whiskey: even a single “sip” of memory is too dangerous, so they avoid it completely to protect their hearts.
“You’re like whiskey, I can’t even have one sip/ Not even just a little bit like I did before/ It’s just too risky, if I start, then I can’t quit/ And all that moving on I did goes out the door/ So I don’t mess with missing you no more,” they sing together on the chorus.
Their harmonies soar, with production that adds to the emotion of the lyrics without being overdone.
While Davis is still climbing the charts with his addictive single “Bar None,” here’s hoping “Mess With Missing You” gets its turn as the next single.
The song was co-written by Davis, Paul DiGiovanni, Travis Wood, and Hillary Lindsey. During a recent interview with Country Now and other outlets, Davis admitted that he and Pearce have been wanting to collaborate for quite some time, they were just waiting for the right song to come along.
“Neither one of us wanted to force anything or just do it because we wanted to have a song together. And we talked about it for so long, but it was finally with this one where I was like, ‘alright, this is it.’ And all I had to do was send it to her and hope she signed off on it. And she did and absolutely crushed it. Such one of my favorite voices out there, so I can’t be more stoked on how that one turned out.”
In a separate interview with Sirius XM’s The Highway, Davis recalled meeting the songstress for the first time nearly a decade ago.
“I moved to Nashville in 2012, and I moved into this little house in West Nashville, and kind of met like my community of songwriters. And I was bartending one night and we come to the house and there’s some people at the house playing guitar and singing. And I walk in and I hear Carly just singing on the couch with some friends. And I was like, ‘Who is that?’ I was like, ‘Goodness gracious, that girl’s really good.’ And they all looked at me like, ‘Dude, that’s Carly Pearce. You don’t know who that is?,” he shared. “And that was even back then, everybody could kind of see it. So yeah, that was the first night I met Carly, and now here we are a few years later and have a song together. So it’s been pretty, pretty cool.”
Davis’ Learn the Hard Way also includes a collaboration with Marcus King and the chart-topping “I Ain’t Sayin’.” Fans can catch the hitmaker on tour now on his headlining Ain’t Enough Road Tour.
Lauren Jo Black is a longtime country music journalist, editor, host, and media personality whose work has helped shape the conversation around country music for nearly two decades. As the current Editor-in-Chief of Country Now, she has become one of the genre’s most respected voices, interviewing hundreds of country music’s biggest stars, including Dolly Parton, Garth Brooks, Reba McEntire, Shania Twain, Randy Travis, Luke Bryan, Carrie Underwood, Blake Shelton, Luke Combs, and countless others. Over the course of her career, Black’s written work and interviews have reached billions of country music fans worldwide. A 2009 graduate of the University of Central Florida, Black began her career by founding Country Music Is Love, one of country music’s earliest independent digital publications, which she later sold to a major record label in 2015 before it was rebranded as Sounds Like Nashville. She then served as the publication’s Editor-in-Chief for more than two years. Her work has also appeared in Forbes, and she previously served as the Country Music Expert for Answers.com. Widely recognized for her expertise, Black has appeared as a featured guest on The Bobby Bones Show, BobbyCast, and Scripps News Morning Rush, providing insight on country music’s biggest moments. She has also hosted Country Now Live, a concert series featuring performances from artists including Lady A, Dierks Bentley, Riley Green, Jordan Davis, Dustin Lynch, Gabby Barrett, Brett Young, Jon Pardi, Kip Moore, Chris Young, and more. The series has welcomed thousands of fans in person while reaching millions more online. In addition, she hosted Connect With Country Now, a weekly interview series featuring conversations with rising country stars. Throughout her career, Black has earned a reputation for discovering and championing artists long before they become household names. She has covered Luke Bryan since the early days of his career, beginning when he was writing songs for other artists, including Billy Currington’s No. 1 hit “Good Directions,” before stepping into the spotlight with his debut single, “All My Friends Say” and eventually becoming one of biggest names in music. She also gave Megan Moroney her first opportunity to walk a major red carpet as Country Now’s official guest correspondent at the 2022 CMA Awards. An interview she conducted in 2018 for Forbes.com with Luke Combs that inspired his multi-week No. 1 hit, “Doin’ This.” She has also hosted stages at CMA Fest, moderated an industry panel at Country Radio Seminar, and helped lead important conversations about the evolving landscape of country music media. Beyond journalism, Black has also used her platform to support charitable causes and highlight organizations making an impact. Through Country Now Live, she has helped raise awareness and support for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, while also advocating for animal rescue through Country Now’s Pupdate series, spotlighting organizations including MuttNation Foundation, Wags & Walks, and Proverbs 12:10 Animal Rescue. Black has been recognized as one of Country Aircheck’s Women of Influence and received the 2012 Rising Star Award from the University of Central Florida. She is a longtime member of both the Country Music Association (CMA) and the Academy of Country Music (ACM). After nearly 20 years covering country music, Lauren Jo Black has spent her career telling the stories behind the artists, songs, and moments that have shaped the genre. Her first-ever book, Country Music Forever: An A-to-Z Celebration of Icons, Songs and Stories, brings that same passion and firsthand knowledge to the page, celebrating not only the legendary artists and timeless songs that have become the soundtrack to generations of fans, but also the places, traditions, and cultural moments that have made country music one of the most beloved genres around the world.
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