Kelsea Ballerini Goes Against the Grain of Country Music: “Good Person First, Good Singer Second”
Kelsea Ballerini is used to making waves in the music industry, be it through her songs, performances or advocacy.
The 31-year-old singer has proven himself as an artist over the past decade, releasing five albums (he dropped his new album. Methods on Oct. 25), received four Grammy nominations and seven top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot Country chart. But he’s also made a splash with his outspoken political views, which haven’t always worked out well for him in an industry that’s traditionally inhospitable to progressive politics.
However, Ballerini has continued to go against the grain, following in the footsteps of more conservative country artists like The Chicks. For example, Ballerini sparked controversy with her performance at the 2023 CMT Music Awards, when she introduced drag queens on stage amid Tennessee’s anti-drag law.
“There is a lot of hatred in the world and it is very loud and that was my first experience, I feel like someone who has felt that way and it made me wake up to make sure that I agree that I can be a good person first, a good singer second,” he says Hollywood Reporter about making a statement in action.
Below, in a recent Zoom interview with THRBallerini is shy about using her platform to advocate for women’s rights and the LGBTQ community, which she hopes people will take away from her new album. Methods and what her perfect date looks like with boyfriend Chase Stokes.
What have you learned about yourself in the last ten years, since your first album The First Time released in 2015 so far Methodsyour fifth studio album?
What haven’t I learned in the last ten years? I think the core of who I am and what drives me is the same, but I think my whole life doesn’t recognize it. I’ve always tried hard to defend the idea that my favorite part of what I do is writing songs, and the thing that keeps me up at night is knowing that one day, if -the radio stops playing me and the places are getting smaller, and at the end of the day, I can be a songwriter for the rest of my life. And I think holding that thought close when I’m overwhelmed or when I start working in a place like scarcity, that’s helped me a lot.
Is there a special song Methods Is that something special to you?
“I’m Sorry Mom” was like one of the first songs I wrote with the women I made a record with, so it means a lot to me because of that. But I think it was the first song I wrote that I realized I could still have a level of vulnerability and honesty in this part of my life and it would still be interesting. And I love my mother very much, we are very close. And I feel like it was a song to honor him, not just him, but to honor him as this coming of age in our relationship, and I think that was important. too much for me. Listen, I’ll write sad songs until the day I die. It is my favorite pastime. But when I write a bop that I feel good about, I say, “Yeah, it’s a good day,” because those are few and far between for me, it’s hard to write. And so “Load” and “WAIT!” they were too much fun for me to write.
Can you talk to me about your songwriting process? Has it always been a creative process for you?
To be honest, I started writing songs when I was 12, 13 and my parents were getting divorced. And I’m an only child so I wanted to find somewhere to put these big feelings and I like to write songs. And then I was like, I want to do this for my life, and then I was lucky and blessed enough to make the first record and then it was my life and my work.
Why is it important to you to use your platform to advocate for women’s rights and the LGBTQ community, kind of going against the stigma surrounding the country music scene?
For a long time, I was afraid to say anything wrong. And then I asked myself one day, what does that mean? As much as I offend people by saying something I identify with, are those the people I really want coming to my shows and supporting me? Maybe not. And of course, the loudest ones I’m going to piss off are the ones that won’t come to the show. Like they won’t. So let me die to the people-pleasers in me, let me be educated, let me put it where it looks to me because it looks different to anybody who has a platform, right? And I think that slowly I started to talk freely about certain things in a way that felt true to me. And like I was doing the right thing for what I believe.
How do you navigate between your personal and public life and what you choose to share with fans, such as your current relationship with actor Chase Stokes?
I think it ebbs and flows all the time and I think this record will be a real litmus test of how we work. We are really colleagues and that took a lot of effort. Like him [Stokes] on a press tour now for his show [Outer Banks] and I’m doing a lot of promotion for the record and tandem, it’s like we’re doing press tours for our relationship and we both had to have a lot of conversations about what makes us how to feel, what we are willing to share. But at the end of the day, we are teammates and we celebrate big and loud successes together.
How do you choose to resign from work and social media?
One thing I told him when we first met, I said if I do anything in this relationship, it will keep us normal and I meant it with all my heart. As much as I love my real life, and I think as I get older, I value it more and need balance. I’m a better musician and singer and songwriter if I’m balanced. And I’m thankful for both of us because when we can – like this week, we have two days together all month and we’re going to be in Nashville with the dogs, eating, watching the show, and then . we will both return to these great worlds to these great lives. And I really appreciate the fact that it’s important for both of us to maintain normalcy and balance.
Is there something you’re obsessed with right now, like a movie, TV show, food, etc.?
The food of the year in this house has been the perfect spicy carbonara. And on the side make a handmade parmesan-crusted chicken. Then you have spicy pasta, and chicken. Oh, that’s great. It’s so beautiful!
Kelsea Ballerini
Patrick Tracy
You’ve said that songwriting is one of your favorite parts of being a musician, but do you have a favorite?
Presenting, honestly. My first few records, I was a sponge and I was watching and asking a lot of questions and I really trusted the producers that I was working with. But a few projects ago, I stopped isolating myself. I was like, just because I can’t play this guitar riff doesn’t mean I can’t sing it to a guitar player. Just because I don’t know what this knob does, doesn’t mean I can’t ask and figure it out, you know what I mean?
You’ve also dabbled in acting a few times over the years, most recently with Doctor Odyssey. Would you like to do more things in the future?
I said no it’s the hardest to act in years because I was afraid of failure and love to fail on screen in public for me is the fuel of fear. And then I was like, well, if it scares you, maybe you should do it. That’s how you grow. And if you fail, the good thing is that you are a musician and the good thing is that you will be making records for the rest of your life. So this opportunity presented itself and I love the character that I am playing. It was a lot of screaming, crying and literally throwing up the whole time. And if I enjoy this experience, I will probably want to do it again. And I just loved it so much.
What are some of the biggest challenges you’ve overcome to help you get to where you are today?
Comparison. I think back to a few years of my career, I was looking sideways instead of forward and I wish I could get those years back. I think it made me less focused than I wanted to be and made me less happy to enjoy other people. And I really had to work on that for myself.
As a woman who proudly works for what she believes in, what advice would you give to other women who wish to work in music or any career?
I can say you don’t have a watch. I certainly would. And I mean that in every way. I think that if you have the knowledge of something that you were meant to do with your life at any level, take your time until it is right. And there will be times of impatience and there will be times when you wonder when. But I really think reminding ourselves that we are not on the clock and that every day, every second, every decision that pushes us towards the right thing is important.
If someone discovers your music for the first time by MethodsWhat would you like them to know?
I hope that when they hear one song it will make them want to hear the rest because I think there are many angles of me as a songwriter, singer, woman, producer, all those things. on this record. So if someone hears a song like “Patterns,” they probably don’t expect a song like “WAIT!” If someone hears a song like, “Cowboys Cry Too,” they might not expect a song like “Deep,” but it all lives within the same project. And I’ve always been, like, I’m a great songwriter and I’m influenced by a lot. So I hope that if someone hears something they like, they will dive deep.
If you had to describe what makes Kelsea Ballerini, Kelsea Ballerini, what would you say?
Maybe the fact that it’s a double Virgo Cancer moon. That’s what makes me who I am. Like I’m crying but on schedule, you know, like I let me, let me tell you, it’s 2pm on a Tuesday, the door is locked, I’m crying. [Laughs].
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