Surprised by Carly Pearce’s National Anthem at the World Series? You Shouldn’t Be

The Kentucky-born, Grammy-winning singer has been one of Nashville's most prized vocalists for years, which she proved to a TV audience ahead of Brewers-Rays Game 3

The Milwaukee Brewers continued their winning streak on Monday night at Game 3 of the World Series, taking down the Tampa Bay Rays 10-1. But it was country singer Carly Pearce who threw a curveball, with a version of the National Anthem that’s going viral — and surprising some with her powerful, pitch-perfect performance.

Clad in a team-neutral plain baseball tee, Peace offered a traditionally arranged take on the notoriously difficult song, hitting the biggest notes with her delicate Kentucky twang.

Pearce isn’t exactly a sleeper star: she’s won a Grammy, had a Number One song on country radio with 2017’s “Every Little Thing,” and is currently a battle advisor for Team Riley Green on The Voice. But she is underappreciated as a vocalist, especially beyond the confines of Nashville’s Music Row. With bluegrass roots and chops honed as a performer at Dollywood, Pearce can tackle everything from a country power ballad to a frisky, twangy kiss-off (“You Can Have Him,” from her newest album Honest Woman, fits that bill perfectly). And Honest Woman, with songs about how we define success, midlife letdowns, and finding an inclusive faith on “Church Girl,” is easily one of the best, most underrated records the genre had to offer in 2026.

Earlier this year, Pearce visited the Nashville Now studio to discuss some of the blowback to “Church Girl,” where listeners were questioning how a Christian woman could sing lyrics like “if God is who He says He is, then I don’t think you’re cursed girl / Just ‘cause you like to get high when you talk to Jesus.”

“I’m thinking about the 15-year-old boy in school that maybe is questioning his sexuality and he feels like he can’t be himself,” she told Rolling Stone. “I’m singing this song for somebody who maybe has sexual purity trauma — I did — where you’re told, ‘No, that’s bad when you’re a child.’”

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Hopefully her World Series performance will help expose more fans to Pearce’s stellar vocals and storytelling, especially since the fickle nature of country music means only a few women get to sit in the spotlight at a time. Friend Kelsea Ballerini certainly thinks so: She was a surprise guest at Pearce’s tour finale on Oct. 22 in New York, whom Pearce described as “her sister.”

Unfortunately, most performances of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” especially those involving women, go viral for all the wrong reasons. In Pearce’s case, it was a grand slam.