Despite near-freezing temps, superstar Kelsea Ballerini took her time chatting with fans and posing for selfies before heading onstage for her Citi Concert on Oct. 25.
It was a busy Friday for Ballerini, who released her latest studio album “Patterns” just hours before stepping onto the TODAY stage. The following Tuesday, she would go on to play a sold-out show at Madison Square Garden.
If the country star was tired, you wouldn’t know it. With her infectious energy and tunes, Ballerini had the audience singing and dancing along to a performance that kicked off with her 2022 hit “If You Go Down (I’m Goin’ Down Too).”
Along with some fan-favorite hits, Ballerini performed her new song “Baggage” for the first time ever on the TODAY stage, which was decorated with stacks of luggage as a nod to the track.
Ballerini’s schedule is about to get even busier: She’ll hit the road for her first arena tour in January, and next spring, she’ll become a full-time coach on season 27 of “The Voice.”
Through it all, she’s found ways to keep her loved ones close, from working with music industry friends on “Patterns” — an experience she describes as “womanhood with some wine” — to filming the music video for her single “First Rodeo” with her boyfriend of nearly two years, “Outer Banks” star Chase Stokes.
Post-performance, Ballerini sat down with us for TODAY’s original video series “8 before 8,” where she opened up about her upcoming tour, top Virgo qualities and sage advice on how to successfully slide into a stranger’s DMs.
What was the inspiration behind the name of your latest album?
I picked Patterns because I feel like, thematically, it kind of encompasses the whole record. It’s very much a love letter to self-assessment. I started writing this album when I was 30. I’m 31 now, and it kind of covers that chunk of my life. Naturally, we kind of look a little more introspectively into ourselves and analyze where we’re at, and what we love about our life and our surroundings, and then what we want to kind of evolve into.
What was it like to work with an all-woman team for this record?
I was lucky enough to work with only women on this record — four of them, Jessie Jo Dillon, Karen Fairchild, Hillary Lindsey, and Alysa Vanderheym. And the reason that came to be — it was not this pre-calculated idea. I honestly knew that to start writing a record, I needed to feel safe, and so I called my friends, who just happened to be incredible pillars in music. We went away to a retreat outside of St. Louis, and it was just womanhood with some wine. A lot of music came out of it, and that is “Patterns.”
Do you have a message for your fellow “Voice” coaches?
You know, it’s such a love fest this season. There’s so much love and respect, especially amongst the coaches. But don’t think that I don’t want to win! Listen, I know that I’m the girl. I know that I’m new. I know you guys have like, 85 years on me. That’s the vibe.
What’s another creative avenue you want to explore in the future?
I really do love cooking. I want to get better at it because I’m Italian. So, I really gotta dig my heels into the pasta realm. I want to host. That’s my thing. When my friends come over, I’m always just like, “What do you want to eat, to drink? Like, what do you need? Sweatpants? What can I get you?” I think that’s part of my love language.
What was it like working with boyfriend Chase Stokes for the “First Rodeo” music video?
“First Rodeo” is the first love song that I wrote for “Patterns,” and I couldn’t put a visual out into the world and not have his essence in it. I mean, the song is about him, and that moment of kind of surrendering to the idea of falling in love again. And it’s interesting. It’s like this delicate balance, where we love being able to share our relationship, but also we want to protect it at the same time. So I’m really proud of how we were able to just gently put “us” into the video together. But still, you know, we don’t want to exploit it — our relationship. I just wanted his heart in it.
What is your best advice on how to successfully slide into someone’s DMs?
Am I known for this now? Am I a DM slider?
You just have to shoot your shot, because I think the worst thing that can happen is it doesn’t work out, and that means it’s not meant to be. But you’re coming from a place of empowerment. No harm, no foul. Shoot your shot. Send the DM, send the text.
Not to your ex, though. Get off your phone. Put it down.
How are you preparing for your sold-out performance at Madison Square Garden?
With a lot of rehearsals. It’s a whole new record. It’s a whole new show. I mean, our production is the biggest I’ve ever gotten to have as a headliner. And we’ve just gotten into town in New York from rehearsals. So, I think I just want to be present. I want to give this record a life for the first time, and to do it on that stage at MSG, which I’ve never played before … I mean, it’s one for the books. For me, I’ll remember it for the rest of my life.
What can your fans expect from your upcoming tour?
We have a hydraulic lift. We have some movement. We have a little pyro. Mostly it’s a show that I wanted to feel very all-encompassing. It’s very visual-heavy, and I just want people to feel like you’re stepping into a different world for an hour and a half. Whether you’re more connected to yourself, or the person that you’re with, or us on stage, I just want you to feel connected. And so we’ve really tried to curate the whole night to feel like that.
If you could form a super group with two other country artists, who would you choose?
I would pick Carly Pearce, because we’re just real life friends. I love her so much. And I would pick Shania (Twain), because I think we both just love her. We would let her sing the whole time, and we’d just hold down the background vocals.
Rapid fire round:
Describe your upcoming tour in three words.
Visual, emotional and fun.
What’s your go-to coffee order?
An oat milk latte with one pump of pumpkin spice. Just one — just enough just to get a whiff of fall.
Favorite karaoke song?
My favorite karaoke song to perform is Kelly Clarkson’s “Since You’ve Been Gone,” because no one can really sing that, except for Kelly Clarkson.
What’s the most Virgo thing about you?
What’s not Virgo about me? I love a plan. I’m a control freak. I’m very tidy in the way that I operate in a career space. But if you saw my bathroom or my closet, that’s not very Virgo of me. It’s just open suitcases, clothes everywhere. But my boyfriend is also a Virgo, and he’s the same way. So I wonder how that works. I should talk to an astrologist about that.
Last show you watched and loved?
The last show I watched and loved was “Nobody Wants This” on Netflix. I already die for Kristen Bell, but I just feel like the way that that show was written and represented, like a modern relationship, was just so yummy. I’m such a fan.