Kelsea Ballerini facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Kelsea Ballerini
Ballerini performing in September 2021
Background information
Birth name	Kelsea Nicole Ballerini
Born	(1993-09-12) September 12, 1993 (age 32) Mascot, Tennessee, U.S.
Origin	Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S.
Genres	Country country pop
Occupation(s)	Singer songwriter musician
Instruments	Vocals guitar
Years active	2014–present
Labels	Black River

Kelsea Nicole Ballerini (born September 12, 1993) is an American country and country pop singer and songwriter. She became famous for her songs that mix country storytelling with pop melodies. Ballerini has been nominated for five Grammy Awards and has won several awards from the Academy of Country Music.

She started writing songs when she was a child. In 2014, she signed a record deal and released her first album, The First Time. Her first song, "Love Me Like You Mean It", reached number one on the country music charts. This made her the first female artist to have a debut single reach the top since Carrie Underwood in 2006. She continued to have success with songs like "Peter Pan" and "Hole in the Bottle".

Ballerini has released several albums, including Unapologetically (2017), Kelsea (2020), Subject to Change (2022), and Patterns (2024). In late 2025, she released an EP titled Mount Pleasant. Besides music, she has appeared on television as a coach on the show The Voice and acted in the series Doctor Odyssey.

Early Life and Education

Kelsea Ballerini was born in Mascot, Tennessee. She is the only child of her parents, Ed and Carla Ballerini. She grew up in Knoxville, Tennessee. Her father worked in sales for a country radio station, and her mother worked in marketing.

When she was three years old, Kelsea started taking dance lessons. She danced for ten years. She also sang in her church and school choirs. When she was 12, she wrote her first song as a gift for her mother. Three years later, she moved to Nashville, which is known as the center of country music, to pursue a career as a singer.

Kelsea attended high school in Knoxville and later in Franklin, Tennessee. She studied at Lipscomb University for two years before leaving to focus on her music career full-time.

Music Career

2014–2016: First Successes

Ballerini in September 2014

At age 19, Ballerini signed a contract with Black River Entertainment. In late 2014, she released her first single, "Love Me Like You Mean It". In May 2015, she released her first studio album, The First Time.

"Love Me Like You Mean It" became a big hit and reached number one on the Billboard Country Airplay chart. She was only the eleventh female solo artist in history to achieve this with a debut single. Her next song, "Dibs", also reached number one.

Her third single, "Peter Pan", was released in 2016. It reached the top of both the Country Airplay and Hot Country Songs charts at the same time. This achievement made her the first female solo artist to have her first three singles all reach number one since Wynonna Judd in 1992.

2017–2021: Growing Fame and Grand Ole Opry

Kelsea Ballerini performing in September 2017

In 2017, Ballerini released her second album, Unapologetically. The album included the hit song "Legends". It was nominated for Best Country Album at the Grammy Awards.

In 2018, she joined the 15th season of the TV show The Voice as a coach for a special digital series called The Comeback Stage.

A major honor in country music is becoming a member of the Grand Ole Opry. Ballerini was invited to join in March 2019 and was officially inducted by Carrie Underwood in April 2019.

In 2020, she released her third album, Kelsea. Later that year, she released an acoustic version of the album called Ballerini. She collaborated with singer Kenny Chesney on the song "Half of My Hometown", which won two Country Music Association Awards. In 2021, she released a book of poetry titled Feel Your Way Through.

2022–Present: Recent Albums and Television

Kelsea Ballerini performing in 2021

Ballerini released the song "Heartfirst" in April 2022. This was the first single from her fourth album, Subject to Change, which came out in September 2022. The album also featured a song with Kelly Clarkson and Carly Pearce.

In February 2023, she released a short film and an EP called Rolling Up the Welcome Mat. She performed songs from this EP on the show Saturday Night Live.

In 2024, Ballerini released a song with Noah Kahan called "Cowboys Cry Too". Her fifth album, Patterns, was released in October 2024. She also started acting, playing a role in the TV series Doctor Odyssey.

In 2025, she became a full-time coach on Season 27 of The Voice. In November 2025, she released her third EP, titled Mount Pleasant.

Musical Style and Influences

Ballerini's music is a mix of country and pop styles. She grew up listening to pop music like Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and NSYNC. She did not know much about country music until she heard a song by Keith Urban.

She lists Taylor Swift as a major influence because Swift's first album introduced her to country music. She also considers Shania Twain to be her greatest influence. Ballerini admires how these artists tell stories through their songs.

Personal Life

Ballerini with Morgan Evans in 2016

In 2016, Ballerini met Australian country singer Morgan Evans. They got married in December 2017 in Mexico. In August 2022, Ballerini announced that she and Evans were separating. Their divorce was finalized in November 2022.

In early 2023, Ballerini began dating actor Chase Stokes, who is known for his role in the show Outer Banks.

When Ballerini was in high school, she went through a very scary experience at her school. She has shared that she dealt with difficult feelings after that event. She has said that writing songs helps her process her emotions and heal from tough times.

Discography

Studio albums

• The First Time (2015)
• Unapologetically (2017)
• Kelsea (2020)
• Subject to Change (2022)
• Patterns (2024)

Awards and Nominations

Kelsea Ballerini has received many awards for her music. Here are some of her major achievements:

Images for kids

• 

  Kelsea Ballerini performing live in Sydney, Australia in December 2025.

See also

In Spanish: Kelsea Ballerini para niños