Country Music News

Kelsea Ballerini’s glad she’s not on her “First Rodeo”

M Kelseaballerini2024cmafest2disneytanneryeager
Disney/Tanner Yeager

Kelsea Ballerini‘s riding straight to the release day of PATTERNS with a new song, “First Rodeo.”

Accompanied by a dreamy music video, the tune offers a candid look at Kelsea’s love life, from getting married to being divorced and then falling in love again with her current boyfriend, Chase Stokes.

“I rode off into the sunset/ The red dust hadn’t been kicked up yet/ Thought I knew all of the ropes/ Thought I could ride like a pro/ Never knew I’d have a round two/ I fell off, babe, but I found you/ Take my heart, but take it slow/ ‘Cause this ain’t my first rodeo,” Kelsea reflects in the chorus.

“Listen, there’s a reality that an inner monologue post public breakup is, ‘I feel washed up on the heart front. I feel like I don’t know how to do this anymore,'” she says. “But at the end of the day, choosing love is bigger, and the honesty of saying please take it slow and be patient with me can actually be a beautiful and connective moment.”

“‘First Rodeo’ encapsulates that conversation, and more so, that decision within self to be vulnerable and open and allowing the hope of it all to seep back in,” adds Kelsea, who co-wrote the track with Little Big Town‘s Karen Fairchild and more.

“First Rodeo” is the latest preview of Kelsea’s forthcoming album, PATTERNS, which includes the earlier released “Two Things,” “Sorry Mom” and “Cowboys Cry Too” with Noah Kahan. The 15-track record is set for arrival Oct. 25.

Here’s the full track list for PATTERNS:
“Patterns”
“Sorry Mom”
“Baggage”
“First Rodeo”
“Nothing Really Matters”
“How Much Do You Love Me”
“Two Things”
“We Broke Up”
“WAIT!”
“Beg for Your Love”
“Deep”
“Cowboys Cry Too (with Noah Kahan)”
“I Would, Would You”
“This Time Last Year”
“Did You Make It Home? (outro)” 

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.