Kelsea Ballerini Initially Struggled to Make It as a Country Star
Kelsea Ballerini is very large now — she's even co-hosting the CMT Music Awards. But she wasn't all the time a star. Here's how she began out.
The 2021 CMT Music Awards are tonight, and all we will talk or consider is Kelsea Ballerini, who's performing as smartly as co-hosting with Kane Brown. "Kelsea and Kane are two of the brightest, most sought-after stars in country music today and we're thrilled to welcome them both as hosts of the 2021 CMT Music Awards," CMT producers stated.
They added, "This dynamic duo reflects the show's revitalized energy as live music returns to center stage in a night filled with incredible outdoor performances, cross-genre collaborations and a few surprises!"
If you are not tremendous acquainted with Kelsea, you then might be shocked that the country singer is only 27 years outdated. And her background is pretty impressive.
How did Kelsea Ballerini get her get started?
Kelsea Ballerini launched her first full-length album, "The First Time," in 2015, with "Love Me Like You Mean It" playing continuous on every country radio station. But good fortune didn't come easily. When she was 14 years old, she tried to get a record deal, handiest to be informed that there was once already a Taylor Swift on the scene. Determined, she ended up going to college and signing with an indie label referred to as Black River. She used to be 19 and in spite of everything began to find her footing.
She shared her experience trying to get a report deal at 14 with the Chicago Tribune, pronouncing,
"I walked in, and I had my big, pink, sparkly guitar case. I could barely play guitar, but I played him a song that I had written, and (the label guy) looked at me and said, 'There's already a Taylor Swift. That slot's taken.' It broke my heart, because I was 14 years old, I was super starry-eyed, but it was such a good lesson to learn early on. He was right. ... It was the first time I realized I had to dig into myself, and figure out what I wanted to say."
She felt like it took eternally to get began and formally get a deal. "It took a long time for people to actually listen to me and actually take me seriously. But I learned that if I walked into meetings and could sit down and actually communicate my dreams and my vision ... if I took myself seriously, then other people would, too," she mentioned. The Knoxville, Tenn. youngster ended up shifting to Nashville for just right.
When she released "The First Time" in 2015, it immediately become a massive hit. "Love Me Like You Mean It" become a No.1 single. According to the Chicago Tribune, Kelsea was the primary female country singer to have 3 of her songs from her first album make it to No. 1 since Wyonna Judd.
"I remember the impact (Underwood's) song had. Not to compare 'Love Me Like You Mean It' to 'Jesus, Take the Wheel,' because it's not even in the same ballpark. ... And to have two more follow-ups, I guess the stat is that no female has had that before in country music history. That's crazy and exciting and maybe a little intimidating," Kelsea admitted.
Watch the CMT Music Awards this night at 8 p.m. EST on CMT, MTV, MTV 2, Logo TV, Paramount Network or TV Land.
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