She began songwriting as a child and signed a contract with Black River Entertainment in 2014,[4] releasing her debut studio album, The First Time, and her second one Unapologetically, followed in 2017.[5] The two albums account for seven songs on the Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts. She has five No. 1 singles on the latter, starting with her debut single "Love Me Like You Mean It", which made her the first female artist to send a debut single to the top of that chart since Carrie Underwood in 2006. It was followed by "Dibs" and "Peter Pan", whose peaks also made her the first female country artist to send her first three singles to the top of that chart since Wynonna Judd.
Ballerini, an only child, was born in Mascot, Tennessee which is nearly adjacent to Knoxville to Ed and Carla Ballerini. Kelsea grew up in Knoxville.[2][6][7] She is of German and Scottish descent and is a quarter Italian.
Ed Ballerini was a sales manager at a country radio station. Carla worked in marketing for the Bible publishing division of Thomas Nelson and for a sponsorship company.[7] Kelsea started taking dance lessons at Premiere Dance Studio in Seymour, Tennessee east of Knoxville when she was three and quit ten years later.[8] She also sang in a church choir and the school choir.[6] She wrote her first song at 12 for her mother[9] and moved to Nashville three years later.[2] Kelsea attended Central High School in Knoxville, Centennial High School in Franklin, Tennessee; and studied at Lipscomb University in Nashville for two years before pursuing a musical career.[10]
Career
2014–2016: Self-titled EP and The First Time
Ballerini in September 2014
At 19, Kelsea Ballerini signed a deal with Black River Entertainment.[2] In late 2014, she released her debut single "Love Me Like You Mean It", which debuted on the Country Airplay chart in October 2014.[11] She released a self-titled extended play for the label in November.[12] She was named one of CMT's Next Women of Country in 2014. She performed for the first time at the Grand Ole Opry on February 14, 2015, and sang "Love Me Like You Mean It."[6] On May 19, 2015, Ballerini's debut album The First Time was released through Black River. For the chart dated July 4, 2015, "Love Me Like You Mean It," the album's first single, reached number one on the BillboardCountry Airplay chart, making Ballerini the first solo female country music artist to score a number one hit with her debut single since Carrie Underwood did so with "Jesus, Take the Wheel" in 2006, and only the eleventh in history to achieve the feat.[13]
Ballerini also became only the fifth solo female country music artist to score back-to-back number one hits with her first two singles when "Dibs" reached the top of the Country Airplay chart and the first to do it since Jamie O'Neal in 2001.[14]
The album's third single, "Peter Pan," was released to country radio on March 21, 2016. "Peter Pan" reached number one on both the Country Airplay and Hot Country Songs charts in September, making Ballerini the first solo female country music artist to top both country music charts simultaneously.[15] The achievement made her the first solo female to send her first three singles to number one since Wynonna Judd accomplished the same feat in 1992.[15] The album's fourth single, "Yeah Boy," was released to country radio on October 10, 2016.
2017–2019: Unapologetically, coaching The Voice, and joining the Grand Ole Opry
In early 2017, Ballerini was named to Forbes'30 Under 30 – Music list at number two.[16][17] In 2017, she received two Academy of Country Music Award nominations for Female Vocalist of the Year and Video of the Year for "Peter Pan."[18] In June 2017, Ballerini released "Legends" as the first single from her second studio album.[19] On November 3, she released her second album, titled Unapologetically.[20] The album debuted at number three on the Billboard Top Country Album Chart and number seven on the Billboard 200 Album Chart, making it her highest-charting album on both charts.[21]
The second single from the album, "I Hate Love Songs", was released in March.[22] In September 2018, she announced that she would be releasing a deluxe edition of the album with four new tracks.[23] On September 18, 2018, EDM-pop duo The Chainsmokers released a song titled "This Feeling" featuring Ballerini, which later performed at the 2018 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in November.[24] The third and final single from Unapologetically, "Miss Me More," was released in October 2018.[25] In October, she provided vocals on her husband Morgan Evans' song "Dance With Me."[26] Ballerini joined the 15th season of The Voice as the fifth coach, where she coached six contestants who did not get a chair turn during The Blinds, in a new round called The Comeback Stage, a digital companion series to the show.[27] In October 2018, Ballerini released the song "We Were Like."[28] In December 2018, Unapologetically received a nomination for Best Country Album at the 61st annual Grammy Awards.[29]
On March 5, 2019, Ballerini was invited by Little Big Town to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry. On April 16, 2019, she was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry by Carrie Underwood.[30] Ballerini embarked on the Miss Me More Tour in support of Unapologetically in April 2019.[31] The tour was a success, with Ballerini selling out multiple dates.[32] In June 2019, Ballerini was a guest on the NBC competition show Songland and released the song "Better Luck Next Time."[33]
In July 2019, Ballerini confirmed in an Instagram post that work on her third studio album was complete.[34] On September 6, 2019, Ballerini released the first single off of her then upcoming third album, titled "Homecoming Queen?"[35] The song debuted at number 22 on the Country Airplay chart, making it Ballerini's highest debut on the chart to date.[36] On November 8, Ballerini released the promotional single "Club".[37] Ballerini confirmed on January 20, 2020, that the album is self-titled (Kelsea) and was released March 20, 2020.[38] The announcement coincided with the release of a second promotional single, "LA".[38] On February 28, she released the single "Hole in the Bottle" (stylized in all lowercase) and announced the tracklist for Kelsea, including "Half of My Hometown" featuring Kenny Chesney and "The Other Girl" featuring Halsey.[39]
On September 2, Ballerini announced she would be releasing a counterpart album to Kelsea, titled Ballerini, featuring stripped-down versions of the songs. It was released on September 11, 2020. The stripped-down version of "Club" was released alongside the album announcement.[40] She described Ballerini as "emotional, vulnerable and soft" while Kelsea showed her "bold and effervescent" side.[41] As of October 16, 2020, Kelsea and Ballerini can be purchased physically as a double album, exclusively from Target.[42]
2022–2024: Subject to Change, Rolling Up the Welcome Mat, and The Voice
In March 2022 Ballerini announced that "Heartfirst" would be released April 8, 2022. The song serves as the first single from her fourth studio album, Subject to Change.[46] While co-hosting during the 2022 CMT Music Awards, Ballerini performed the song for the first time.[47] The music video for the song premiered July 7, 2022.[48] On July 15, 2022, a promotional single, "Love is a Cowboy" was released along with the official music video.[48] The album features a collaboration, "You're Drunk, Go Home", with Kelly Clarkson and Carly Pearce. The album was released on September 23, 2022.[49][50] In November 2022, "Heartfirst" was nominated for Best Country Solo Performance at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards.[51] On December 5, 2022, "If You Go Down (I'm Goin' Down Too)", was released as the album's second single. On February 13, 2023, Ballerini announced that her short film and EP Rolling Up the Welcome Mat would be released the next day.[52] Promoting the EP, she performed "Blindsided" and "Penthouse" on the March 5, 2023, episode of Saturday Night Live.[53]
On June 5, 2024, it was announced that Ballerini would be featured as a coach on the 27th season of The Voice which is set to air spring 2025.[54]
2024–present: Patterns
On June 28, 2024, Ballerini released a collaboration with folk-pop singer-songwriter Noah Kahan called “Cowboys Cry Too," the first single from her fifth studio album.[55] On August 8, 2024, she announced her fifth studio album would be called Patterns, and that the song "Sorry Mom" would be released the following day. The album was released on October 25, 2024.[56]
In September 2024, it was announced that Ballerini will make her acting debut in a guest role on the upcoming ABC series Doctor Odyssey.[57]
Influences
Ballerini has been influenced by artists in both pop music and country. Originally influenced by pop, she said "I grew up on top 40 pop. I didn't know what country music was, which is so funny because I grew up in East Tennessee."[58] She lists Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, NSYNC, and Hilary Duff among the early artists who inspired her.[59][60] Ballerini cites Justin Bieber as being an early pop musical inspiration.[61] It was not until Ballerini heard "Stupid Boy" by Keith Urban that she decided to delve deeper into country music by listening to albums by Taylor Swift, Sugarland, and Dixie Chicks. Ballerini credited Swift's self-titled debut studio album for introducing her to country music. Ballerini also cites Shania Twain as her greatest influence.[62] Ballerini has also performed songs originally recorded by Alison Krauss and sang "Ghost in This House" alongside Krauss at the CMT Artists of the Year Awards in 2018.[63][64]
In March 2016, Ballerini began dating Australian country singer Morgan Evans. They were engaged on Christmas Day 2016[65] and married on December 2, 2017 in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.[66] On August 29, 2022, Ballerini announced that she and Evans were divorcing.[67] On November 3, 2022, it was revealed that Ballerini and Evans had reached a settlement, and their divorce was finalized on November 15, 2022.[68][69]
In February 2023, it was confirmed that Ballerini was dating Outer Banks actor Chase Stokes. The couple reportedly began dating in January 2023.[70][71]
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