Kelsea (stylized in all lowercase) is the third studio album by American country pop artist Kelsea Ballerini. The album was released on March 20, 2020.[10] Kelsea debuted at numbers 2 and 12 on the Top Country Albums and Billboard 200 charts, respectively. It spawned four official singles "Homecoming Queen?", "The Other Girl", "Hole in the Bottle", and "Half of My Hometown" as well as two promotional singles "Club" and "LA".

Kelsea
A woman in a white dress lying down on a sunlit grass field.
Studio album by
ReleasedMarch 20, 2020
Recorded2019
Studio
  • Sound Stage Studio (Nashville)
  • The Robbins Nest (Nashville)
  • Z Studio (Nashville)
  • The Red Room (Nashville)
  • Southern Ground Studios (Nashville)
  • Spirit Music Nashville (Nashville)
  • The Brown Owl (Nashville)
Genre
Length39:36
LabelBlack River
Producer
Kelsea Ballerini chronology
Unapologetically
(2017)
Kelsea
(2020)
Ballerini
(2020)
Singles from Kelsea
  1. "Homecoming Queen?"
    Released: September 6, 2019
  2. "The Other Girl"
    Released: April 20, 2020
  3. "Hole in the Bottle"
    Released: May 27, 2020
  4. "Half of My Hometown"
    Released: April 19, 2021
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
The Independent[6]
Rolling Stone[7]
Spectrum Culture3.25/5[8]
The Times[9]

Background

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Ballerini announced via Instagram in July 2019 that her third album was complete.[11] The album title and its release date were revealed on January 20, 2020.[12] The album's track list was revealed on February 27, 2020.[13]

Ballerini wrote or co-wrote all 13 tracks on the album. Two tracks have credited guest vocalists: "The Other Girl" is a duet with Halsey and "Half of My Hometown" features harmony vocals from Kenny Chesney.

Singles

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The lead single of the album was "Homecoming Queen?" which was released on September 6, 2019.[14] Ballerini sang it at the 53rd Annual Country Music Association Awards in November.[15]

"The Other Girl," featuring Halsey, was released on April 20, 2020 as the album's second single.[16]

On February 28, 2020, "Hole in the Bottle" was released as a promotional single[13] but was later made an official single on May 27, 2020.[17] A remix featuring Canadian singer Shania Twain was released November 13, 2020.[18]

"Half of My Hometown," featuring Kenny Chesney, was released on April 19, 2021 as the album's fourth single.[19]

Promotional singles

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"Club" was released on November 8, 2019 as the album's first promotional single.[20] A music video was released two days later, on November 10, 2019. "LA", the album's second promotional single, was released on January 24, 2020.[12]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Kelsea Ballerini, with additional co-writers as noted

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Overshare"2:50
2."Club"3:01
3."Homecoming Queen?"
  • Galyon
  • Robbins
2:48
4."The Other Girl" (with Halsey)3:21
5."Love Me Like a Girl"
2:57
6."Love and Hate"
2:58
7."Bragger"
  • Copperman
  • Galyon
  • McAnally
  • Robbins
2:46
8."Hole in the Bottle"
2:36
9."Half of My Hometown" (featuring Kenny Chesney)
  • Copperman
  • Galyon
  • McAnally
  • Robbins
3:52
10."The Way I Used To"3:15
11."Needy"3:12
12."A Country Song"
  • Galyon
  • Robbins
3:13
13."LA" 2:47
Total length:39:36

Notes

  • All track titles are stylized in all lowercase.[21]

Personnel

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Adapted from the Kelsea liner notes.[22]

Vocals
Instruments
Production
  • Dan Grech-Marguerat – mixing, additional programming
  • Luke Burgoyne – assistant engineer
  • Charles Haydon Hicks – assistant engineer
  • Josh Ditty – assistant engineer (tracks 1, 8)
  • Kam Luchterhand – assistant engineer (track 6)
  • Trey Keller – digital editing (tracks 4–7, 9, 10)
  • Dave Kutch – mastering (Mastering Palace; New York, NY)
Imagery
  • Ashley Kohorst – Art direction and design
  • Peggy Sirota – photography

Charts

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Certifications

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Certifications for Kelsea
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[37] Gold 500,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Kelsea Ballerini - kelsea album review". March 20, 2020.
  2. ^ Stefano, Angela. "Kelsea Ballerini's 'Kelsea': 5 Utterly Honest Songs". The Boot.
  3. ^ "Kelsea Ballerini New Album Review". Lyricmagazine.co.uk. 20 March 2020. Archived from the original on 14 January 2021. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  4. ^ "ALBUM REVIEW: Kelsea Ballerini - 'kelsea'". Yourlifeinasong.com. March 20, 2020. Archived from the original on August 8, 2020. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  5. ^ Thomas Erlewine, Stephen. "AllMusic Review". AllMusic. Retrieved May 23, 2020.
  6. ^ Cudsi, Jake (March 20, 2020). "The Independent Review". The Independent. Retrieved May 23, 2020.
  7. ^ Bernstein, Jonathan (March 20, 2020). "Kelsea Ballerini Is Her Own Kind of Country on 'Kelsea'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 23, 2020.
  8. ^ Cober-Lake, Justin (April 23, 2020). "Spectrum Culture Review". Spectrum Culture. Retrieved May 23, 2020.
  9. ^ Hodgkinson, Will (March 20, 2020). "Kelsea Ballerini: Kelsea review — love, loss and small-town life". The Times. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  10. ^ Freeman, Jon (January 23, 2020). "Kelsea Ballerini Sets Dates For New Album 'Kelsea'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  11. ^ "Kelsea Ballerini's Third Studio Album is Officially Complete". Iheart.com. July 29, 2019. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  12. ^ a b "Kelsea Ballerini to Release Third Album, "Kelsea," on March 20 [Watch New "la" Video]". Nash Country Daily. January 23, 2020. Archived from the original on March 12, 2020. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  13. ^ a b Dukes, Billy. "Kelsea Ballerini Unveils Kenny Chesney, Halsey Duets". Taste of Country. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  14. ^ Hermanson, Wendy. "Kelsea Ballerini Cries in Raw 'Homecoming Queen?' Video [Watch]". Taste of Country. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  15. ^ "Kelsea Ballerini's 'Homecoming Queen' & 'Girl Crush' Performance at the CMA Awards 2019". Billboard. November 13, 2019. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  16. ^ "Single Releases". MusicRow. Archived from the original on April 1, 2020. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
  17. ^ "Country Aircheck" (PDF). 26 May 2020. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  18. ^ Billboard Staff. "It's Wine O'Clock! Kelsea Ballerini Drops 'Hole in the Bottle' Remix With Shania Twain". Billboard. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
  19. ^ "Future Releases for Country Radio Stations". All Access. Archived from the original on April 1, 2021. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
  20. ^ Freeman, Jon (November 8, 2019). "Kelsea Ballerini Opts to Stay Home in Sleek New Song 'Club'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  21. ^ "kelsea by Kelsea Ballerini on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  22. ^ Kelsea (booklet). Kelsea Ballerini. Black River. 2020. BRE2020-04-CD.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  23. ^ "ARIA Australian Top 50 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. March 30, 2020. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
  24. ^ "ARIA Top 40 Country Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. March 30, 2020. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
  25. ^ "The Weeknd Has This Week's No.1 Album". FYIMusicNews. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
  26. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
  27. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
  28. ^ "Official Country Artists Albums Chart Top 20". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  29. ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 30, 2020.
  30. ^ "Kelsea Ballerini Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
  31. ^ "Kelsea Ballerini Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
  32. ^ "Kelsea Ballerini Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
  33. ^ "ARIA Top 50 Country Albums for 2020". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  34. ^ "Independent Albums – Year-End 2020". Billboard. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
  35. ^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2020". Billboard. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  36. ^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2021". Billboard. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
  37. ^ "American album certifications – Kelsea Ballerini – Kelsea". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved August 11, 2022.