I'm not super traditional at all.
— Kelsea Ballerini
I love having that conversation with someone I've never met before who's enjoying something that I wrote and being able to connect and share that.
I went to my first CMA Music Fest when I was 14 and waited in line for two hours to meet two people: Taylor Swift and Hillary Scott from Lady Antebellum. It's very ironic but not accidental that those two people refer to me as their 'little sister' now.
'Peter Pan,' I think, was a game-changer. That was the first song that really had some heartbeat to it... I think that's the song that got people's attention.
My life is truly pop country.
I feel a loyalty to my favorite artists, and to have my fans feel that, for me, is a special bond because I've been there for so long.
I used to walk around trying to do the Britney Spears growl: 'Oh, baby, baby.'
My biggest dream is to headline an arena tour.
I was a huge Jonas Brothers fan, unapologetically, when I was 12 or 13.
I love that on country radio, you can hear a George Strait song, and the next is Sam Hunt. I love that there's such a variety.
I want to stay where I am. I'm stoked to be a country artist.
I really want people to know I'm a songwriter.
The whole heartbeat of the first record is young, which I think is what made it relatable to young girls.
I wanted to be the girl that talks about getting a guy. I felt like that was a different approach to writing.
I think that, as artists, all we can do is be who we are. I think that if we do that, then we're automatically not anyone else.
I starting writing when I was about 13 or 14 years old.
I grew up performing in glee club at my school; I was the ostrich in 'Peter Pan,' and then I was super-involved in church choir and worship leading at my church. So I always loved music and was involved with it, but never really thought it was what I wanted to do until I started writing.
I wanted to be a vet. I really thought that's what I wanted to do.
You really do have to be different. You really do have to set yourself apart.
The Grammys are just the pinnacle of music.
Getting to do shows with Lady Antebellum, Keith Urban, and Sam Hunt is just awesome. It's so inspiring because I grew up such fans of Lady A and Keith, and to be able to sing my songs on the same stage as them and then stand side stage and watch them is just a really special thing.
I try to be a good person. I love Jesus.
Honestly, I was a fan before I got the opportunity to be an artist. I was the kind of fan who would stand in line or post a cover video.
Me and my mom made a deal that if something would happen to help me get my start in music, I could get out of college.
The Grammys to me, well, that's my peers. That's the industry thinking what I do is good.
I remember telling myself when I got to start having artist opportunities, 'Let yourself be a fan, because you are. The minute that you walk in a room with Carrie Underwood, and you're too cool to freak out, you need to check yourself.' I just let myself be a fan.
Even though there are incredible songs floating around Nashville, it's important for me to have my voice heard.
People send me songs all the time that are literally no-brainer hits... but for me, I'm an artist because I'm a writer.
I love when an artist can stand by themselves and play their guitar and hold a crowd, but I also love bells and whistles.
I see little girls at my meet-and-greets who are like, 'Kelsea! It's my first concert and I came to see you.' And I'm thinking, 'I don't want to post anything online that your mom would be mad at me for, because you're important to me.'
When Florida Georgia Line and Nelly put out the 'Cruise' remix, it brought so many more people to country music.
I grew up on a farm in eastern Tennessee with a very southern lifestyle, so my roots are super country and southern, but my first concert was Britney Spears. I think that you can hear both of those influences in my music.
I listen to everything. I sing country music, but I listen to different stuff.
I danced for 10 years. I was on a competitive hip-hop team, but then I, like, grew seven inches in one year - not really, but I grew tall and really lanky, and I lost all my coordination.
The thing that's been most important to me is being interactive with people that are listening to my music.
Music videos, to me, are like an extension of a song.
I'm a huge fan of the Chainsmokers - like, huge. Like, I would love to collaborate with them.
I just want to make the best music I can make.
There are certain days I will get home, and something will pop up on my Twitter, and I will just cry about it. I get so overwhelmed that I get to do what I do.
I'm in this wave with Maddie & Tae and RaeLynn and Mickey Guyton and Cam. We're all kind of finding our niches and becoming successful. I think that it's just been really fun to be with them and do this all together.
I've always been a big, bold thinker and a dreamer.
With Rascal Flatts, I'm such a fan of them, and I feel like they've been so gracefully relevant through decades of country music.
I like making people feel pretty.
I have a huge appreciation for music in general, but my roots are country.
The artists that I relate to and love the most are the ones where I can listen to the record, and I can know them better, and for me, that's writing it.
I've studied live shows and artists for so long. I got the tour documentaries and all that and watched them. I love a show. I love an artist that can do all of it.
I love pop music. I've tried to always be honest about that.
I think that every time a country artist steps outside of the country boundary, it just brings more ears to us.
'The First Time' is a song that I wrote by myself on my front porch, in real-time, as that situation was happening to me.
I would love to do a duet with Gavin Degraw. Or Ed Sheeran.
