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Kelsea Ballerini hinted that new music could arrive soon after “accidentally” confirming a deluxe album is in the works.
Ballerini spoke about two of the songs in the setlist of her ongoing arena tour in a video shared on TikTok. She spotlighted “Two Things” and “First Rodeo” as two of her personal favorite tracks on her latest studio album, Patterns, which come to life with “the most magical” production elements on stage:
“I’m just sitting here reflecting, thinking, and two of my favorite songs on Patterns are ‘Two Things’ and ‘First Rodeo.’ Therefore, those are two of the songs that I made, to what I think, the most magical, production-wise, on tour. And I don’t think they’re getting enough love. There, I said it. …I think they’re so pretty on tour. There’s a tree. It looks like the tree’s on stage. It’s not. It’s on video. Doesn’t matter. ‘First Rodeo,’ there’s a carousel that comes down. We love ‘Baggage.’ We love — I love it all. But can we love these songs? I don’t know, before I change the set list? I don’t know.”
Ballerini explained in the comments that “the set list is only changing because…hypothetically…new music needs a lil room 🥹” One TikTok commenter requested, “Kelsea please please please put out ‘[To The Men That Love Women After Heartbreak],’” an unreleased ballad that Ballerini played for the first time on the Grand Ole Opry stage in November 2023, and it quickly became a fan-favorite. Ballerini replied to the TikToker simply with the emoji of a pair of eyes: “👀.”
Ballerini’s hint at new music arrives shortly after she “accidentally” confirmed she would release a deluxe edition of Patterns. She said in a recent interview with Byrdie that she’s working on a “really great” deluxe album after debuting the original 15-track record in October. Ballerini teamed up with songwriters and producers Alysa Vanderheym, Little Big Town's Karen Fairchild, Jessie Jo Dillon and Hillary Lindsey to bring the record to life.
“It is a love record. It’s full of love—self-love, love for my family, my friends, my partner, whatever,” Ballerini said of Patterns in her interview with Byrdie. “But it’s the nuance of it, the growth of it, the tension within it… that is so necessary and interesting to me.
“I’ve always considered myself country-adjacent,” she said later of her musical style. “I grew up in East Tennessee, on a farm, and I write from a storytelling perspective. And I’ve dug my heels into the Nashville country music community–that’s home base for me. But I also don’t want to ever be boxed in, and I would urge every artist to feel that way. …Music is music. It should exist for everyone, and the whole point of country music, in particular, is writing the truth, writing your story. It shouldn’t matter if there’s a banjo or a beat drop. It’s been really beautiful to watch new ears come into this community, and I love being a small part of that.”
Ballerini celebrated Patterns’ arrival with a sold out album release show at Madison Square Garden in New York City. She kicked off her first headlining arena tour in January with special guests Sasha Alex Sloan, Ashe, The Japanese House and MaRynn Taylor. See the list of tour stops here.