Kelsea Ballerini
Kelsea Ballerini has consistently made history. With the release of her debut album The First Time (Black River), she became “the only female country artist to hit #1 with her first three consecutive singles from a debut album.” She has logged four back-to-back Top 10 entries on the Billboard Top Country Albumschart, including the platinum-selling The First Time [2015], gold-selling Unapologetically [2017], gold-selling kelsea [2020], and ballerini [2020]. With 25 certifications from the RIAA to date, her catalog boasts a string of essential smashes such as the double-platinum “Miss Me More” and “Peter Pan,” the recently certified platinum “hole in the bottle” with Shania Twain and “half of my hometown” feat. Kenny Chesney, which marked Kelsea’s seventh #1. Among dozens of accolades thus far, she has garnered two GRAMMY® Award nominations, won two ACM Awards, two CMA Awards, took home the iHeartRadio Music Awards honor 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. Most recently, Kelsea led the field for 2022 CMT Music Awards nominations with three nominations for “Video of The Year,” “Collaborative Video of The Year” and “CMT Performance of The Year.” She also earned a nomination for “Music Event of the Year” for the 2022 ACM Awards as both artist and producer of “half of my hometown” feat. Kenny Chesney. This marks Kelsea’s first ACM nomination as a producer. She concluded 2021 as the “#3 most-played female artist on country radio” and CMT “Artist of the Year” in addition to picking up “Musical Event of the Year” and “Video of the Year” at the CMA Awards for the gold-certified “half of my hometown” feat. Kenny Chesney. On April 11th, Kelsea will co-host the CMT Awards, which are set to air on CBS nationwide. Expanding her sphere of influence, she released her first original book of poetry Feel Your Way Through, and Dolly Parton tapped her to star in the audiobook of Run, Rose, Run. It’s 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.” She also was inducted as a member of the famed Grand Ole Opry in 2019. At the time, she notably was the Opry’s youngest member, in its nearly 100-year history, since being founded in 1925. Kelsea Ballerini is ready to continue making history in 2022 and beyond.