Kelsea Ballerini has toured with Kenny Chesney, sold out arenas on her own, had hit singles and more. But her biggest highlight is something that happened early in her career, long before she became a superstar.
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"When I moved to Nashville, I was 15," Ballerini tells CMT. "I wanted to be around music as much as I could, and got to go to the CMT Awards. I just wanted to be a part of it. And I didn't know in what way I would maybe get the opportunity to."
In 2019, Ballerini got to not only go to the CMT Awards, but perform her hit single, "Miss Me More."
"That performance was my Christmas," Ballerini says. "That was my Super Bowl."
"Miss Me More" was written by Ballerini, along with Brett McLaughlin and David Hodges. The song is from Ballerini's sophomore Unapologetically record.
" data-instgrm-version="14" style="background:#FFF;border:0;border-radius:3px;margin: 1px;max-width:540px;min-width:326px;padding:0;width:99.375%;width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px);width:calc(100% - 2px)">Kelsea Ballerini's Romance Affects Her Songwriting
Ballerini might have a harder time writing songs, now that she is happily in love. Ballerini and Chase Stokes have been dating since early 2023, which she admits makes it harder to write songs.
"When I'm happiest, it's hardest for me to write," Ballerini tells People. "I really have always been drawn to songs, writing them. And just as a fan and listener, that dig into the complexities of life, whether that be relational heartbreak or family dynamics, or the nuance of growing up, and the ickiness of that. That to me is what I relate to the most."
Writing aside, the Tennessee native says she is a much better version of herself with Stokes.
"I really always romanticized what a relationship, a healthy one, a steady one, looks like," Ballerini admits to People. "There's a really interesting thing when you get into a certain season of your relationship where some of the glitter wears off, and you're starting to get really comfortable, and you're having more of the harder conversations. You become a mirror for each other. [Chase] helps me see the best things about myself and vice versa. We also show each other the things that we want to get better at."
