Kelsea Ballerini can’t stop telling the truth
As a music enthusiast who has followed Kelsea Ballerini‘s career since her breakthrough, I find it incredibly inspiring to witness her growth and evolution as an artist. The story behind her latest album, “Patterns,” is particularly captivating, not just because of its creation process but also due to the unique perspective it offers.
According to Kelsea Ballerini’s perspective, there were two main expectations surrounding her latest album: “Firstly,” she notes, “it was thought I would move towards a more pop sound.” Secondly, “there was an assumption that the album would take on a softer tone.
For quite some time now, fans have been eagerly awaiting the pop transformation of this 31-year-old country singer and songwriter, whose rise to fame around a decade ago was significantly influenced by Taylor Swift. Swift’s early recognition of Ballerini as a promising successor sparked anticipation for a “1989”-like shift in her music style, indicating a potential crossover to the pop genre.
Says Ballerini with a smile: “They can keep waiting.”
Speaking as a movie enthusiast, when it comes to the notion that I’d turn into some sort of lovey-dovey character, as the artist puts it, I would counter by saying, “It’s simply because people see me content.” This contentment is largely due to my relationship with actor Chase Stokes, which I started after openly sharing my personal journey following a public divorce, a story I detailed in last year’s Grammy-nominated “Rolling Up the Welcome Mat” EP.
“But going pop and getting soft — I very intentionally did not want to do either of those things.”
In her latest release titled “Patterns,” she impressively combines two challenging techniques: She pens about personal development with a depth of emotional understanding that few songwriters employ when addressing heartbreak, and she successfully introduces sonic and structural innovations while staying true to the mainstream country music genre without compromise.
Take “First Rodeo,” a sleek midtempo track with twangy guitars and blipping synths in which Ballerini extends a metaphor about getting back on the horse further than you’d think possible without breaking it. Or take “Sorry Mom,” an almost uncomfortably forthright note to her mother about the let’s-call-it-scenic route Ballerini took to becoming “a woman that you’re proud of.” (“Showing up again on Sunday morning / You just made the eggs and turned your head,” she sings, which — oof.)
In addition, there’s “Hold on!”: a brief span of intense mental tension experienced by an individual who fears being abandoned before abandoning themselves.
× Ballerini shares that the final track she composed for the album was about completing the narrative. She explains, “I felt it was a piece missing from the story where I was wrong, if you catch my drift? It’s simple to portray the breakdown of a relationship, but then you realize, ‘Oh, hold up — some of this was my fault.’
Ballerini has been in Los Angeles for a few months, filming “The Voice,” the well-known TV singing competition where she’ll serve as a coach when the new season starts in February. She previously disliked L.A., but since she was going to be here for some time, she decided to try and make the city feel more like home by renting a place in Los Feliz, reminiscent of her Green Hills neighborhood in Nashville. She filled her house with the same candles she uses at home and cooks dinner as often as possible. She even brought her dog Dibs along, only to find out upon arrival that the 9-year-old dog has cancer.
She mentions that she recently took him for a chemotherapy appointment before arriving here, while she continues to browse through numerous photos of Dibs on her phone in search of one to share. “It’s heart-wrenching,” she notes, “but he remains optimistic. Being away from home during this event in Nashville would make me feel so out of place.
Beyond her work on “The Voice,” Ballerini recently filmed a guest role in the new television series by Ryan Murphy titled “Doctor Odyssey,” a medical drama set on a cruise ship. For quite some time, acting was something she categorically rejected due to her fear of failure and humiliation. However, she’s taken on numerous tasks that initially scared her over the past couple of years, and everything has worked out fine in the end.
Despite this, the album “Patterns” highlights the growing proficiency of Ballerini in both singing and songwriting. In “Two Things,” she utilizes the raw edge of her sweet voice to express the frustration of a love-hate dynamic; in “We Broke Up,” she understands that closure is only accessible to those prepared for it: “I could delve deep into the particulars / I could conceal, I could cry until I vomit / Take a walk, photo roll, old emails / But it’s as straightforward as, ‘We broke up.’
Following numerous years refining her craft in Nashville’s music scene, Ballerini adopted a more casual and relatable tone on “Rolling Up the Welcome Mat” which continues into her latest album. Her inspiration included SZA’s free-flowing track “SOS.” She explained, “I used to believe that only the most clever songwriters were the best – people like Shane McAnally, whom I call a ‘god’ with his knack for phrasing perfectly. But during ‘Welcome Mat,’ I let go of that mindset – I didn’t even worry about rhyming anymore – and that opened up so much more creative space for me.” Now, she emphasizes, the success of a song lies less in its catchiness or wordplay and more in resonating with listeners, making them think “Wow, I literally sent that text to my friend yesterday.
Face-to-face, Ballerini comes across as friendly, conversational, and somewhat gabby – a seasoned celebrity who has managed to keep a genuine, earthy charm yet understands, from experience, how to establish an emotionally engaging rapport with conversation partners.
According to Adam Levine from Maroon 5, who is a coach on The Voice, “Kelsea isn’t just a pop machine.” He explains that when he talks to Kelsea, it feels like they are friends.
Born in a religious household in Knoxville, Tennessee, Ballerini, self-proclaimed as an open book, ventured to Nashville at age 15 with dreams in music. A few years later, she landed a record deal and achieved her first No.1 country-radio hit with the sincere debut single “Love Me Like You Mean It” in 2014. Additional chart-toppers ensued, such as “Dibs,” which shared its title with her pet dog, and “Peter Pan,” a song that explores the perils of being smitten by an immature man. Additionally, she received a Grammy nomination for best new artist.
She admits that her early work made her sound quite youthful. For about the initial five years of her professional life, she still retained a very youthful appearance.
In 2017, at age 24, Ballerini tied the knot with Morgan Evans, a fellow Australian country singer whom she had met while co-hosting an awards show in Brisbane. Following their wedding, Ballerini’s career flourished as she experimented with new sounds alongside The Chainsmokers and Halsey, and collaborated on successful country duets with Shania Twain and Kenny Chesney. However, over time, her marriage to Evans unfortunately deteriorated.
In her song “Rolling Up the Welcome Mat,” released a few months after their divorce at the end of 2022, Ballerini expresses that they needed to get drunk in order to truly communicate. One of her songs narrates a solitary breakfast she had in Big Sur while her husband was touring Europe; she sings, “The photos look nice,” but adds, “at least they do on your Instagram.” (Evans shared his perspective in the emotional 2022 single “Over for You,” where he laments, “It hurts knowing you were drifting alone” and questions, “Was it something I missed, or is there someone else?”)
Ballerini expresses immense pride about the songwriting on her EP, ‘Welcome Mat.’ She feels it solidified her credibility not only in her own mind but also within the industry. However, she acknowledges that her honesty, both in her music and during a candid podcast episode, had its costs. In other words, she admittedly caused some hurt to others.
In her fifth studio album titled “Patterns,” Ballerini aimed to preserve the same level of openness she discovered during her last work, but with a slight adjustment in what she discloses about her personal life. She enlisted the assistance of skilled songwriters – Hillary Lindsey, Jessie Jo Dillon, Karen Fairchild from Little Big Town, and Alysa Vanderheym. The latter two were responsible for producing “Welcome Mat” and ultimately, the entire new album.
Ballerini states, “They’re all outstanding authors, and they’re also my pals,” making the collaborative process feel relaxed. With a friend’s farm serving as our creative hub, we brainstormed and eventually produced “Sorry Mom,” “Two Things,” and “Baggage.” In these pieces, Ballerini discloses, “I don’t adhere to that 50-pound restriction.
In an all-female team setting, Vanderheym notes that they could express themselves freely in ways they wouldn’t normally in other writing rooms. There were occasions with wine and late nights where emotions ran high. Ballerini found this liberation so profound that she used the F-word in one song, which is not common in country music. Vanderheym recalls Ballerini asking, “Am I going to have an ‘E’ on my record?” referring to the symbol indicating explicit content on streaming platforms. Interestingly, Ballerini also attributes another woman, who wasn’t present during the retreat, for her decision to include the F-word in her song. Ballerini says, “I wouldn’t have put ‘f—‘ on this record,” had Taylor Swift not used the same language in one of her songs.
The singer preferred to record “Patterns” in Vanderheym’s living room instead of a professional studio’s vocal booth because she finds it too similar to an office cubicle with an unfamiliar computer. As she humorously puts it, when recording vocals nowadays, she sits cross-legged on the floor holding a microphone.
× For their album’s hit single “Cowboys Cry Too,” Ballerini reached out to Noah Kahan, a folk-rock artist from Vermont whom she had met at the Grammys in February. As she reminisces, “I was absolutely starstruck by him, and he asked me about ‘Peter Pan’! I couldn’t believe it!” In “Cowboys Cry Too,” Ballerini tackles the impact of “toxic masculinity.” She felt the song would be more potent if a man also spoke about it from his point of view. So she took the initiative and messaged him, asking Noah to contribute. Kahan penned a heartfelt verse about a guy learning to break free from the stoicism he inherited from his father.
According to Ballerini, “The song refers to Noah as a man who isn’t afraid to expose his deepest emotions, letting them flow freely.
According to Ballerini, “Cowboys Cry Too” is one of the two country radio-friendly songs I’ve ever released, the other being “If You Go Down [I’m Goin’ Down Too],” a song from my 2022 album “Subject to Change” that I co-wrote with McAnally. However, four months after its release, “Cowboys Cry Too” is still lingering in the top 30 on Mediabase’s closely monitored country chart.
The artist expresses a thoughtful outlook on the song’s success. She states, “I’ve achieved seven No. 1 hits on country radio, but I can’t seem to get one now.” She continues, “Things shift over time, don’t they?” Additionally, she mentions that she might never win the title of Female Vocalist of the Year at the Country Music Association Awards – a category for which she has been nominated seven times, including for the upcoming CMAs ceremony. “That’s likely the reality,” she says.
Currently, I find myself at a stage in my professional life where there’s an overflow of opportunities in various forms, including upcoming TV appearances and a concert scheduled for Tuesday night at New York’s Madison Square Garden, where I will perform ‘Patterns’ from start to finish. I’ve had to redefine what success means to me. I’m putting in the effort, being present, and that’s important to me. I’m not sure what the final outcome will be, but I’m open to whatever it may bring.
Read More
- TOMI PREDICTION. TOMI cryptocurrency
- PROTEO PREDICTION. PROTEO cryptocurrency
- ARPA PREDICTION. ARPA cryptocurrency
- Silver Rate Forecast
- DATA PREDICTION. DATA cryptocurrency
- SLIM PREDICTION. SLIM cryptocurrency
- BLENDR PREDICTION. BLENDR cryptocurrency
- ACT PREDICTION. ACT cryptocurrency
- EUR USD PREDICTION
- ELF PREDICTION. ELF cryptocurrency
2024-10-29 01:33