Kelsea Ballerini released her third studio album “kelsea” on Friday, March 20. As someone who has loved Ballerini since her first single was released back in 2014, my feelings toward this album are no different.
Ballerini is labeled as a country artist, yet there is something carefree about her music, and it has always had the makings of a country-pop crossover. Take the first song on “kelsea,” “overshare,” a song about her telling too much about herself and the constant anxiety she feels around strangers. The song has an upbeat tone that could easily translate to pop radio. The chorus ends with “I know there’s moments that I’m missin’ / if I’d just shut up listen / but silence makes me scared / so then I overshare,” which is an overarching theme of the album and a universal theme of being human.
Another song on “kelsea” that grasps this concept is “homecoming queen?” This was the lead single and is the third song on the album. The song centers around the need to be perfect all of the time, but Ballerini argues “even the homecoming queen cries.” This was a perfect lead, as it can resonate with so many women who have gone to extremes to seem like the epitome of perfection, a notion pushed heavily in our society.
A personal favorite on the album is “half of my hometown,” which features country legend Kenny Chesney. Both Ballerini and Chesney are from Knoxville, Tennessee, and this song pays homage to their hometown. However, as Ballerini does so well, anyone who grew up in a close-knit community can relate to this song. The bridge, which goes “backroads raise us / highways they take us / memories make us wanna go back,” is so simple yet so meaningful for those who have a special connection to their hometown. Ballerini switches up the lyrics in the last chorus, name-dropping Knoxville and singing “all I want to do is make them proud.” This is a song that makes me cry every time I hear it because I think deep down, whether we would like to admit it or not, a part of us will always be our hometown. So many people want to get as far away from their hometown as possible, but hometowns shape who we are now, for better or for worse.
Other notable songs on the album include “club,” a song about growing out of the party scene Ballerini had yearned for as an artist for so long, “the other girl” with Halsey, a song about two girls empowering each other instead of tearing each other down, “hole in the bottle,” a female twist on the typical country drinking song and “la,” a song describing Ballerini’s love and hate relationship with the city.
The true shock to me is Ballerini’s seemingly slow rise to fame, but in a world where country radio has an unspoken rule that says female artists cannot be played back to back, it really shouldn’t. Having followed country music my entire life, I have seen a shift in an already sexist industry, and not for the better. Regardless, female country artists continue to inspire a new generation with albums like “kelsea.”
Ballerini has managed to create a body of work that can resonate with a wider audience, like all good music should. Because of this, “kelsea” might be her most relatable, and best, album yet.
Originally published as an online exclusive for The Stylus.
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