Kelsea Ballerini is an American country pop star with a powerhouse voice and a tonne of charisma. The 29-year-old singer-songwriter was born Kelsea Nicole Ballerini in Mascot, Tennessee on September 12, 1993. She has spent her whole life in Tennessee, having grown up on a large property in Knoxville. She currently lives in a five-bedroom modern farmhouse in Nashville.
Ballerini kicked off her music career as a solo artist at 19, when she signed a deal with Black River Entertainment. She dropped her debut album The First Time in 2015. The first single from the album “Love Me Like You Mean It” hit number one on the Billboard Country Airplay chart. As a result, Ballerini became the first solo female country singer to hit number one with their debut single since Carrie Underwood’s 2006 debut “Jesus, Take the Wheel”.
Already a big name for country fans, Ballerini reached a wider audience when she joined the 15th season of The Voice in 2018. The country star coached six contestants on the US show. Her talents are not limited to her honey-glazed voice, as she also plays guitar and writes all her own songs, with some help from songwriters.
Ballerini’s biggest hit remains her debut studio album, 2015’s The First Time, which went Platinum in the US. Her second and third albums, Unapologetically and Kelsea, both went gold. Her most recent studio album, 2022’s Subject to Change, hit the US top 20 but has not yet gained any RIAA certifications.
Some big name collabs have also kept Ballerini’s name in the charts, such as her 2018 feature on The Chainsmokers’ track “This Feeling”, which went Platinum in the US. Country rocker Kenny Chesney lent his golden voice to her 2021 single “Half of My Hometown”, which unsurprisingly went Platinum as well given the star power involved. Pop superstar Halsey also teamed up with Ballerini, featuring on her track “The Other Girl” in 2020, which went Gold.
Being a country girl through and through, Ballerini has stayed true to her country music roots throughout her four-album career, although she does add touches of pop here and there.
Ballerini is an only child and was raised by her mother Carla and father Ed. Country music runs in her blood as Ed, who is of Italian heritage, worked as a sales manager at a country music radio station. Carla did marketing for Thomas Nelson, a Christian publishing house. She also helped inspire her daughter’s music career, as Kelsea wrote her first song at age 12 for her mother.
Ballerini married Australian country star Morgan Evans on December 2, 2017. The pair were married for five years before Ballerini announced that they were divorcing on August 29, 2022. The couple’s divorce was later finalised on November 15, 2022. Tennessee’s favourite daughter hasn’t given up on love though, as she’s since been linked to Chase Stokes, who is known for his lead role in teen drama series Outer Banks. They went public with their relationship in February 2023, although reports suggest they had been dating since December 2022.