Kelsea Ballerini

On her first trip to the UK, the record-breaking artist is still flying high on the success of her debut album, whilst preparing to release her much-anticipated second. Maverick’s Danielle caught up with Kelsea on her first day in London to discuss her incredible success so far, what to expect from her next album, and the rise of women in country.

- Danielle Smith

On her first trip to the UK, the record-breaking artist is still flying high on the success of her debut album, whilst preparing to release her much-anticipated second. Maverick’s Danielle caught up with Kelsea on her first day in London to discuss her incredible success so far, what to expect from her next album, and the rise of women in country.

Sitting down with Kelsea Ballerini, you certainly get the impression that despite growing up on a farm in East Tennessee, she’s not just your typical country girl, but rather she is, first and foremost, a ‘90s child. Within five minutes of meeting, we were both sharing stories of our first ever concerts – both Britney Spears. As we catch up at Sony Music HQ in London, it is this shared ‘90s nostalgia that we bond over first, before getting on to discuss Kelsea’s country music takeover.

Whilst her key influences growing up may have been firmly rooted in the popular chart hits of the time – everything from Britney to the Backstreet Boys – Kelsea’s home life was every bit the country upbringing you would imagine from an American country artist. “I had a super Southern upbringing,” she tells me. “We had a big piece of land, and my cousins lived right next door, and every Sunday we’d go to church together, come back and have a big lunch. We had a bunch of animals and we would just always be outside”. It’s thanks to this upbringing that she feels she can so easily communicate through country music.