Country star Ballerini, 26, releases her third
album, kelsea, on March 20. The “Miss Me
More” singer chatted about her A-list
collaborators, her anxieties and her life with
her husband, Australian singer-songwriter
Morgan Evans, 34.
What did you want to say
with this album?
This one is just me trying to figure my s---
out, like “Who am I now?” It’s a
little more personal—that’s
why we called it kelsea.
You experiment with a lot
of sounds this time around.
There are a lot of pop and
country elements on this
record. It made me scared; I
was like, “If there’s as many
beat drops as there are banjos
on this album, are people going
to think that I’m not a country artist
anymore?” But I never will jump ship.
You address dealing with social
anxiety on a few songs. Where does
that stem from?KelseaBallerinion Music,Marriage& FamousFriendsPart of it is I don’t know where
I fit in the celebrity culture
because [I think] I’m a D-list
country singer and I find myself
in a room with A-list people and
I don’t know how to navigate it
or how to talk to them. It makes
me go in my head.
You and your friend Halsey
duet on “The Other Girl.”
How did that happen?
I met Halsey at her show in Nashville and
we just clicked—we went out that night
and did karaoke! I wrote this song as
a duet and played it for her at her house.She was able to relate to it: We’ve
both been in relationships where
we’ve been cheated on. It was so fun.
You also have a song with
Kenny Chesney!
We’re both from Knoxville, Tenn., which is
why he’s on the song. Growing up, he was
the hometown hero. A couple of years
ago I was about to play [ in Times Square],
and he took a photo of my face on the
marquee, got my number, texted me and
said, “Proud of you, hometown girl, love
Kenny.” When I wrote “Half of My Home-
town,” I sent it to him because I think we
grew up really similarly, and there’s no one
else I’d want on this song—and I can’t
believe he did it.
You and Morgan just celebrated your
second anniversary in December. How
has your relationship changed?
I think as we’ve settled into marriage
we’ve hit kind of the comfortable
phase. I’m so independent by nature;
I like to be able to be self-sufficient.
Now I’m finally like, “Needing
someone else is not you being
codependent.” It’s a real vulnerability
that I’ve had to get to, to allow myself
to get there. —JEFF NELSON‘AS WE’VE
SETTLED INTO
MARRIAGE
WE’VE HIT
KIND OF THE
COMFORTABLE
PHASE’
—ON LIFE WITH
HER HUSBAND,
MORGAN EVANSMarch 30, 2020 23ScoopH a p p y
Homebody
“The two most-
used words
on this album
are ‘home’ and
‘friends,’ which
is very telling of
where I’ve been,”
says Ballerini.Family &
Friends
Left: Ballerini
with husband
Evans in an April
2019 Instagram
post. Right:
with pal Halsey
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: PEGGY SIROTA; CHRISTOPHER POLK/GETTY IMAGES in 2017.P13SCP1A(6).indd 23 FINAL 3/17/20 1:58 AM