Kelsea Ballerini has been called one of the “Next Women of Country” and she is getting a lot of attention from her debut single “Love Me Like You Mean It”. The song is rising in country music radio and big things are ahead for this little lady!
Ballerini is from east Tennessee, despite the Italian name.
“I grew up 45 minutes from Dollywood, so Dollywood was it,” Ballerini says during an interview at her label’s office on Nashville’s Music Row two weeks after the ACMs.
“We went to Dollywood all the time when I was little. It was the coolest place and I have such great memories of it.”
In October 2014, Kelsea dropped her first single, “Love Me Like You Mean It,” which is still climbing Billboard’s Country Airplay chart before releasing her five-song self-titled EP; she took part in CMT’s Next Women of Country showcase in November and is currently co-headlining a tour of the same name with Jana Kramer as well as opening for Lady Antebellum on select dates of their Wheels Up Tour; she made her Grand Ole Opry debut in February; and on May 18, Kelsea released her debut album, The First Time, a 12-song offering for which she wrote or co-wrote every song.
Kelsea started her love of music at an early age.
“My mom used to read me books when I was little, and I was always fascinated with stories,” says Kelsea. “So I began journaling in middle school, which is a weird time in general, but then my parents split up and I was feeling a lot of emotions, so that was my way of venting about it. My journaling turned into poems that turned into songs.”
She recently stopped by The Today Show to perform the song and you can watch it below!
Download Kelsea’s new album below!
