Country artist Kelsea Ballerini stepped out of her headlining Country comfort zone to accompany the Jonas Brothers as an opener on their 2021 Remember This Tour. While the opportunity was a teenage dream come true for Ballerini, she admits it came with a fair share of challenges.
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“You get comfortable with [headlining] because you’re like, ‘They like these songs! They like me, they really like me!’” She explained to Audacy’s Katie Neal. “And then you open and it’s a real challenge, especially to a crowd that isn’t as familiar with a Country artist.”
Kelsea went on to explain she “went to work every night” for 50 minutes to try and win over crowds that weren’t there particularly to see her. “I went to work every night,” Kelsea explained. “I was like, I have 50 minutes to show you what I do, show you who I am and hopefully you dig it.”
Ballerini believes fighting for respect from unfamiliar crowds made her a better performer, prompting her to earn the crowd’s attention rather than being the main event.
“It sharpened me,” she said. “I needed to be on all the time, whether I’m headlining or not. I don’t want to get too comfortable where I’m not really present ever again.”
After venturing outside her comfort zone, Kelsea is ready to return to her roots as she works on a new Country album that she says will tell a story.
“I’m still in the planning stages of it,” she said of the upcoming project. “I really want this record to feel really cohesive, and really like it tells a story, like a record.”
She continued, “I still believe in the power of a record, where you can listen track one to track whatever and it makes you feel something listening in that order. I’m goin’ back to that this time.”
Kelsea also mentioned she’ll be “taking a break from collaborating” for this album.
“My last few singles have been collaborations,” she said. “So now I’m just like, ‘let’s get back to the roots, let’s get back to the heart of it all.’ Maybe once I reset, I’ll get back after it [collaborations].”
The collab break will come just after a joint performance that is still “under wraps” for Monday’s ACM Awards. While Kelsea isn’t saying much about it, an Instagram post from Ballerini hints it will be a duet with Dolly Parton.
“Just a couple of East Tennessee girls getting ready to sing together at the ACM Awards,” Kelsea captioned a photo of her and Parton this week.
Monday will be a big night for Ballerini as she gives the performance of a lifetime with the Country music queen, while also celebrating a nomination in the Music Event of the Year category for “half of my hometown.”
The 57th Annual ACM Awards, hosted by Dolly Parton, Gabby Barrett and Jimmie Allen, will take place live from Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Monday, March 7 at 8PM ET/7PM CT. For the first time in ACM Awards history, the show will be exclusively broadcast live via Amazon’s Prime Video.
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