13 of the biggest moments from Kelsea Ballerini's career so far
Take a trip down memory lane as we prepare for new music...
At 13 years old, Kelsea Ballerini didn’t make the cheerleading squad. That year, she picked up the guitar and wrote her first song. Fast forward almost two decades, the Knoxville native has grown into one of the biggest country artists in the US. Wondered what her journey to stardom looked like? Well, look no further.
Kelsea has played in Ireland just a handful of times, so we hope to see her soon 😉
We've pieced together some of the singer’s biggest moments in her career, from her breakthrough in 2015 to her burgeoning TV career.
From an incredibly productive 2020 - releasing two albums - collaborating with country juggernaut Shania Twain and racking up another Number 1 single, take a look through her impressive career timeline as she teases new music is on the way...
13 of the biggest moments from Kelsea Ballerini's career so far:
Career beginnings
Kelsea Ballerini, an only child, grew up in Knoxville, Tennessee until she moved to Nashville in high school. Two years into her degree at Lipscomb University, she dropped out to sign a record deal with Black River Entertainment at 19.
Her debut single, 'Love Me Like You Mean It' landed on the Country Airplay chart in October 2014. Shortly after, Kelsea dropped a self-titled extended play and was named one of CMT's Next Women of Country. The initiative has helped fellow country stars Maren Morris, Lauren Alaina, Lindsay Ell, Cam, Carly Pearce and Mickey Guyton hit the big time.
2015: First country Number 1
This was the year Kelsea's career blew up. 'Love You Like You Mean It', reached Number 1 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart, making Kelsea the first solo female country music artist to score a Number 1 hit with her debut single since Carrie Underwood, and only the 11th woman ever to do so. Her second single, 'Dibs', also reached the top of the charts.
Kelsea joined Lady A on their Wheels Up tour and hit the road with Dan + Shay. She made her debut at the Grand Ole Opry on 14th February 2015, an important milestone for any country artist.
2016: Touring with Rascal Flatts
'Peter Pan', the third single from Kelsea's debut album, 'First Time', reached Number 1 on both the Country Airplay and Hot Country Songs charts in March. Her fourth single, 'Yeah Boy', was released to country radio on 10th October 2016.
Kelsea was the opening act for Rascal Flatts on their 'Rhythm and Roots Tour', before embarking on her first headlining dates, 'The First Time Tour'. She also co-hosted the CMC Awards in Australia, alongside Morgan Evans. The pair began dating not long after.
2017: Country Music Awards nominations
Kelsea's career continued to go from strength to strength when she received her first two Academy of Country Music Award nominations for Female Vocalist of the Year and Video of the Year for 'Peter Pan'. She was also named on Forbes' 30 Under 30 – Music list, ranked at Number 2.
In June of that year, 'Legends', the first single from her sophomore album, 'Unapologetically', which was released on 3rd November. It debuted at Number 3 on the Billboard Top Country Album Chart and Number 7 on the Billboard 200 Album Chart, making it her highest-charting album to date.
Kelsea was the support act on two milestone tours in 2017, the 'You Look Good World Tour' with Lady A and Thomas Rhett's 'Home Team Tour'. She also co-hosted the CMA Music Festival: Country's Night To Rock alongside Rhett. They both reprised the role for the next two consecutive years.
2018: The Voice
Her television career kicked off with The Voice, first as The Comeback Stage coach, then later as an advisor to judge Kelly Clarkson. Kelsea featured on The Chainsmokers song, 'This Feeling' - a crossover pop hit. She performed the hit song at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show.
2019: Inducted into the Grand Ole Opry
On 5th March 2019, Kelsea was invited by Little Big Town to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry. On 16th April, she was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry by Carrie Underwood. Then, the duo sang Trisha Yearwood's 'Walkaway Joe' together at the ceremony.
2020: Collab with Halsey
In 2020, Kelsea collaborated with Halsey on the song 'The Other Girl', with the pair releasing the track on 20th April. The track was the second single from her third studio album 'Kelsea', with the singer co-writing the song with Halsey, Ross Copperman and Shane McAnally.
2020: Two albums in one year and Shania Twain collab
Her self-titled third album, 'Kelsea' was released on 10th March 2020. Other promotional singles included 'LA' and, of course, 'The Other Girl' with Halsey. In early 2020, Halsey joined Kelsea for a CMT Crossroads performance in Nashville.
In September of 2020, Kelsea announced a surprise fourth album, 'Ballerini'. The album is a reimagined version of her third album 'Kelsea', featuring new melodies and acoustic recordings of the songs. The stripped-down version of 'Club' was released alongside the album announcement.
On top of all that, Shania Twain was revealed to be a featured artist on 'Hole In The Bottle' in late 2020, with the song released on 13th November. Topping the country chart in Canada, the track also hit the Number 2 spot on the US Country Airplay chart.
2021: Touring with the Jonas Brothers
'Hole In The Bottle' hit the top of the Mediabase Chart in February 2021, her sixth Number 1. Kelsea then released her single 'half of my hometown', featuring fellow Knoxville native Kenny Chesney, which she performed on the Academy of Country Music Awards in April 2021. That year, the song picked up the awards for Musical Event of the Year and Video of the Year at the CMA Awards
Kelsea shared on social media in 2021 that she had already writing songs for her next album. As well as this, she announced her first poetry collection, 'Feel Your Way Through'. Topping off a very successful year, Kelsea also began touring with the Jonas Brothers, through to September 2022.
2022: Award nominations and co-hosting CMT Music Awards
In 2022, Kelsea bagged a whole host of award nominations, including Single of the Year at the CMA Awards for 'half of my hometown', Country Artist of 2022 at the People's Choice Awards, and THREE nominations at the 2022 CMT Music Awards - for Video of The Year, Collaborative Video of The Year and CMT Performance of The Year. Not only that, but she also picked up a nomination for Music Event of The Year at the ACM Awards that year, as both artist and producer of her track 'half of my hometown' - marking her first ACM nomination as a producer!
It was also in April of 2022 that Kelsea co-hosted the epic CMT Music Awards ceremony, alongside Kane Brown and Anthony Mackie. As well as her award nominations and hosting the show virtually, she performed her track 'Heartfirst'. This was the first time she performed the track, before releasing it on 8th April 2022.
2022: Touring with The Judds
Towards the end of 2022, Kelsea embarked on a tour with Wynonna Judd on 'The Final Tour'. The tour was first announced by Wynonna and Naomi Judd in April 2022, and was set to feature special guest Martina McBride - however, tragically Naomi passed away on 30th April. Wynonna announced that she would continue to tour, under the name The Judds, and the tour went ahead not only with Martina, but also alongside Keslea, Ashley McBryde, Faith Hill, Brandi Carlile, Little Big Town, and Trisha Yearwood.
2023: 'Rolling Up the Welcome Mat' and Kenny Chesney tour
Kicking off 2023 with a bang, Kelsea announced on 13th February that she would be releasing her short film and EP 'Rolling Up the Welcome Mat' the following day. In an exciting promotion for the EP, she performed two tracks on Saturday Night Live - these being 'Blindsided' and 'Penthouse'. The exciting performance on the iconic show took place on 5th March 2023.
In the spring of 2023, Kelsea was the very special opening act for Kenny Chesney on his 'I Go Back' Tour. The co-headline delighted fans, following them teaming up in 2021 on their hit 'Half of My Hometown' with them sharing the same hometown of Knoxville, Tennessee.
2024: Award nominations and incoming new music
Welcoming in 2024, Kelsea shared a post that delighted fans across the world. Following the trend of stating 'ins' and 'outs' for the new year, the singer teased that she is working on some brand new music! Sharing a series of images of her living her best life, the country icon wrote: 'INS: making a record OUTS: posting about it', adding: 'au revoir for now 🤍', leading fans to believe she will be away working on a new album.
On top of that, setting 2024 up to be quite the year for the singer, Kelsea's EP 'Rolling Up the Welcome Mat' bagged her a Grammy Award nomination for Best Country Album. In April, she also picked up CMT Award nominations for CMT Performance of The Year, Female Video of The Year and Video of The Year.
Read more:
Top Country albums turning 50 in 2024
Dolly Parton: Everything you need to know about the music icon
Noah Kahan's songs: The meanings behind his lyrics