Have you seen the video of Carly Pearce being invited to be a member of the Grand Ole Opry by Dolly Parton?

Turns out that you’re only seeing part of the story. As you might know already, Carly used to work at Dollywood when she was a teenager, and also has always looked up to Dolly as a musical hero, so when she was asked to film a video recounting her days working at the East Tennessee theme park, Carly was more than happy.

Of course, Carly didn’t realize this was all a ruse to get her in front of a camera when the big moment happened with Dolly extending the invite. We now know that the cameras actually had to be shut down for a bit as Carly admits that she had a good 20 minutes of ugly crying because she was so overwhelmed with the offer. Becoming a member of the Opry has been a life long dream of Carly’s.

Carly shares what the cameras didn’t catch — including Dolly trying to help Carly compose herself. “I had tears everywhere and like, snot everywhere because I was crying, and she walked over to me and she had her new perfume in her hand, and she said, ‘Honey, do you want some of my perfume?’ And then she goes, ‘Smell my neck.’ And I was like, ‘Dolly, I have just cried for the last 20 minutes. I am afraid I’m going to snot on you.’ And she handed me her perfume and she just told me that she felt so excited to welcome me into the family.”

Carly Pearce will officially be inducted as the newest member of the Grand Ole Opry on August 3rd.

Fans can check out a live version of her current single “Next Girl” right here…

Photo Credit: Allister Ann