Kelsea Ballerini is an American country pop singer and songwriter, She rose into prominence when she released her debut album “The First Time” in 2014.
Ballerini was born in Knoxville, Tennessee. Her father, Ed, a former sales manager for a country radio station, is of part Italian descent. Her mother, Carla, has worked in marketing for Thomas Nelson Bible publishing and a sponsorship company. She is an only child.
She attended Central High School in Knoxville, Tennessee; Centennial High School in Franklin, Tennessee; and then Lipscomb University for two years until she pursued a musical career.
She started songwriting as a child and signed with Black River Entertainment in 2014,[releasing her debut studio album the following year, The First Time. Her second studio album, Unapologetically, followed in 2017.
Ballerini’s first two albums have accounted for seven charted songs on the Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts. She has four No. 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.
Full Name: Kelsea Nicole Ballerini
Date of Birth: September 12, 1993
Place of Birth: Mascot, Tennessee, U.S.
Age: 28
Height: 168 cm
Nationality: American
Zodiac sign: Virgo
Genre: Country country pop, pop
Occupation: Singer, Songwriter
Record label: Black River
Instruments: Vocals, guitar
Net-worth: $6 million
Career:
She signed a deal with Black River Entertainment at the age of 19 before releasing her debut single “Love Me Like You Mean It”, which debuted on the Country Airplay chart in October 2014.
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”.
For the chart dated July 4, 2015, “Love Me Like You Mean It”, the album’s first single, reached number one on the Billboard Country 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.
She 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.
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.
Ballerini released “Legends” as the first single from her second studio album. On November 3, she released her second album, titled Unapologetically.
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.
Ballerini announced her fourth studio album, self-titled Ballerini, released on September 11, 2020. The album is a counterpart to Ballerini’s previous album Kelsea, featuring stripped-down versions of the songs on it.
The stripped-down version of “Club” was released alongside the album announcement. She described Ballerini as “emotional, vulnerable and soft” while Kelsea showed her “bold and effervescent” side.
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.
This achievement also made her the first solo female to send her first three singles to number one since Wynonna Judd accomplished the same feat in 1992.
Personal Life:
Ballerini is married to Australian country singer Morgan Evans, they got married in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico in 2016.
Albums:
The First Time (2015)
Unapologetically (2017)
Kelsea (2020)
Ballerini (2020)
Singles:
“Love Me Like You Mean It”
“Dibs”
“Peter Pan”
“Yeah Boy”
“Legends”
“I Hate Love Songs”
“Miss Me More”
“Homecoming Queen?”
“The Other Girl” (with Halsey)
“Hole in the Bottle”
Awards:
Billboard Women in Music: Rising Star
Academy of Country Music Awards: New Female Vocalist of the Year
Radio Disney Music Awards:
Country Favorite Song
“Peter Pan”
Kids’ Choice Awards Favorite New Artist
iHeartRadio Music Awards Best New Artist
Country Music Association Awards Musical Event of the Year
“Half of My Hometown” (with Kenny Chesney)