New York, NY (Top40 Charts) GRAMMY-nominee, Country Music Association and Academy of Country Music award winner, Kelsea Ballerini continues running her fingers through the small details of her own life to deliver songs and videos that are palpably rich in a sense of both how life evolves and the way opposing ideas can define the same moments in time.
Having sold out her PATTERNS release-celebrating Madison Square Garden debut on Oct. 29 in mere minutes, the East Tennessee songwriter/artist/creative offers 'Two Things', a yearning song that explores the ways opposing emotions can create their own gravitational pull.
"I've learned it's in the nuance of real love," offers Kelsea Ballerini, "you can't understand how incredibly angry or hurt someone can make you, while at the same time, the ability to forgive and move towards healing that can be present. And that is a reality that goes both ways, too. You can also make someone so angry or hurt, and they can find forgiveness and desire in the midst of it."
Filmed on location in New York City and somewhere far more bucolic, the clip also balances urban sidewalk cafes, the curb outside the boutique Carlyle hotel, city traffic and the bed in a luxurious suite with giant trees, a back road, small towns and a humble, almost homey feeling bedroom. Ballerini ponders the rush of emotions as she hangs emotionally suspended in the in-between between the extremes. Directed by P. Tracy, whose work includes clips from Halsey, Katy Perry and Avril Lavigne + Yungblud, the diffused light and languid cuts create a visual mirror to the video's and song's own slow coming to clarity.
The song, which emerges from one of those fights where everything's over, considers the things that are said and the truth in one's heart. Emotionally, it is a journey from shattered relationship to racing to reunite and heal what is broken, while visually, it's a thoughtful unfolding of a young woman moving through the world as her clarity emerges.
"This song embodies the intensity of a crossroads moment in a relationship, it's full of duality and mixed emotions," Ballerini explains. "I love that Patrick felt that, too, and created a palette and action that is more low impact but represents all of those feelings. Plus, who doesn't want to sit in a sunflower field in the middle of New York?!"
Working once again with collaborator/co-producer Alysa Vanderheym, PATTERNS saw Ballerini use an all-girl approach. PATTERNS began with a songwriting retreat with Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee Hillary Lindsey, GRAMMY Songwriter of the Year nominee Jessie Jo Dillon and Little Big Town's Karen Fairchild, creating a judgement-free zone to explore female friendship, vulnerability, and the juxtaposing reality that's the way relationships are, not Instagram-delivered.
As 'Cowboys Cry Too (with Noah Kahan)' conquers country radio and has almost 75 million streams, 'Sorry Mom' and now 'Two Things' provide a fuller sense of Ballerini's PATTERNS.
Kelsea Ballerini has consistently made history. With the release of her debut album, The First Time, she became the only female country artist to hit No.1 with the first three consecutive singles from a debut album. This history-making feat earned her a 'Best New Artist' GRAMMY nomination. She has logged five back-to-back Top 10 entries on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart, including the platinum-selling The First Time (2015), gold-selling Unapologetically (2017), gold- selling kelsea (2020), ballerini (2020) and SUBJECT TO CHANGE (2022). With seven No.1 singles and 32 certifications from the RIAA to date, her catalogue boasts a string of essential smashes.
Among dozens of accolades thus far, Ballerini has garnered four GRAMMY nominations, won two ACM Awards, picked up two CMA Awards, took home the iHeartRadio Music Awards honour for 'Best New Artist', and received multiple career nominations from the ACM Awards, American Music Awards, CMA Awards, CMT Awards and People's Choice Awards. Ballerini was also inducted as a member of the famed Grand Ole Opry in 2019. At the time, she notably became the Opry's youngest member in its nearly 100-year history since being founded in 1925.
Expanding her sphere of influence, Ballerini authored her first original book of poetry, Feel Your Way Through (2021), and Dolly Parton tapped her to star in the audiobook of Run, Rose, Run (2022). This same year, the multi-platinum country superstar was named the newest face of CoverGirl. She entered into a multi-year partnership and launched a cosmetic collaboration with the brand in 2023.
Ballerini's fourth album, SUBJECT TO CHANGE, arrived in 2022. The gold-certified first single, 'HEARTFIRST', earned her a GRAMMY nomination for 'Best Country Solo Performance'. She went on to surprise fans five months later with the release of the intimate six-song Rolling Up the Welcome Mat, which earned her a GRAMMY nomination for 'Best Country Album'. Rolling Up the Welcome Mat, along with an accompanying short film written and directed by Ballerini, marked the multi-platinum star's most honest work to date and led to her Saturday Night Live debut, universal acclaim from critics including The New York Times, Variety, Rolling Stone, as well as the honour of gracing the cover of TIME Magazine.
Most recently, Kelsea Ballerini enlisted 'Best New Artist' GRAMMY nominee Noah Kahan to appear on her tender and beautifully crafted new single 'Cowboys Cry Too', following the pair's incandescent performance on the 2024 Academy of Country Music Awards. In addition to this, Ballerini announced she is set to serve as Coach on Season 27 of NBC's The Voice, premiering in Spring 2025.
With these accolades, it is no wonder NPR proclaimed, "Kelsea Ballerini is definitely one of the most influential women in country right now... she's defining the sound of the genre."
