So sunny that her sharp songwriting can be overshadowed, Kelsea Ballerini nimbly navigated the line separating country and pop in the second half of the 2010s before she decided to ignore borders altogether in the subsequent decade. Ballerini had hit singles right out of the gate, racking up three successive Billboard Country Airplay chart-toppers -- "Love Me Like You Mean It," "Dibs," and Peter Pan" -- between 2014 and 2016, laying the foundation for a career that subtly adapted to shifting trends. Her versatility meant that she didn't stay strictly in a country lane. In 2018, Ballerini sang "This Feeling," a single by the EDM outfit the Chainsmokers, and in 2020, she invited Halsey to sing on "The Other Girl," a single pulled from the Kelsea album. She also worked with LANY on 2021's "I Quit Drinking." These digressions into the mainstream didn't negate her country roots -- a sound she returned to on her 2022 album Subject to Change -- but rather illustrated how fluid, flexible, and modern her brand of country-pop was.

Kelsea Ballerini started writing songs when she was 13 years old, learned guitar a year later, and moved to Nashville at 15 to pursue her dream of being a professional singer and songwriter. Four years later, when she was 19, Ballerini signed a publishing deal with Black River Publishing and a recording deal with Black River Entertainment later that same year. A debut single, "Love Me Like You Mean It," appeared on the label in 2014; the song slowly became a big hit, reaching number five on the Billboard country singles charts and number one on its country airplay charts. An eponymous digital EP was released in November of 2014, and as word about Ballerini spread, she was named one of 2014's Next Women of Country by CMT and appeared on the Grand Ole Opry for the first time on February 13, 2015.

In May 2015, Black River released Ballerini's first full-length album, The First Time; it debuted at four on Billboard's U.S. country charts and 31 on the Billboard Top 200, eventually going gold. The following year, she was nominated in the Best New Artist category for the 59th Annual Grammy Awards. In June 2017, Ballerini released "Legends," the first single from her sophomore album, Unapologetically, which appeared in November. The LP peaked at number seven on the Billboard 200 chart and later earned her a Grammy nomination for Best Country Album. The following year saw Ballerini issue a deluxe version of the album that added four new tracks, including the single "Fun & Games." In 2019, she guested on Thomas Rhett's single "Center Point Road" and released the track "Homecoming Queen?", the lead single from her third LP. Titled Kelsea, the album appeared in March 2020, debuting at number two on Billboard's Country Chart and number 12 on its Top 200. Kelsea also spawned the single "Half of My Hometown," featuring Kenny Chesney. Released later that year, Ballerini featured stripped-down, re-recorded versions of many of Kelsea's songs. Ballerini collaborated with Los Angeles duo LANY on the 2021 single "I Quit Drinking," then returned in 2022 with the solo track "Heartfirst," the first single from her fifth album, Subject to Change. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine & Steve Leggett, Rovi